Unspoken Words
by R.C. Cummings
Summary: JJ is trying to figure out how the new agent can be oblivious to the horrors of their job.
1. Chapter 1

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

The team had just gotten back from a bad case in which they were all in their own decompression motions, trying to expel the demons they once again had stood up and fought. On this case, they all had to go into the motions throughout the case though. This happened when children were involved or when the victims were tortured in ways that would make most coward. The team had to find a way to press on to protect others.

They all found different ways of handling it. Morgan through music, Hotch through paperwork, Gideon and Reid a game of chess. JJ was still in the process of finding her outlet when the newest member to the team arrived.

Emily seemed immune to the horrors around her which made the press liaison be in awe of her. Ever since the Hankel case she had made it a side mission to watch the woman so she could find out what her secret too oblivious was.

It wasn't until the first time they had to room together on a case that she was given a glimpse into what made the woman decompress. They were in Las Cruces New Mexico chasing down a serial rapist and Emily had to translate for most of the victims.

JJ was in the room and understood most of the Spanish being said and watched Emily's reactions. On the surface, no one would have seen any response to things being said but she had watched the subtle changes of deep breaths being taken in and slowly being let out or the looking out a window instead of the victim's eyes that were crying.

Then at the hotel she noticed the woman took a quick shower when she came in without saying a word then went to her bag and pulled out a book. She thought Emily was going to read but instead started penning something in its pages. For over an hour she wrote while listening to something on her Iphone without saying a word.

JJ thought she was writing notes on the case because the next morning she seemed to have a new take on it that helped catch the suspect days later. Until that night when Emily went through the same routine and fell asleep from exhaustion with the book in her hand. It fell to the floor and she picked it up and noticed that the book was a journal. She couldn't resist reading the page the book had landed on.

 _Arrogance_

 _You rattled the grave_

 _and have shaken the bones,_

 _The greed in your eyes_

 _couldn't leave well enough alone._

 _The dead lay there silent,_

 _begging for peace._

 _Yet for your enjoyment_

 _torture is all you release._

 _In life the souls_

 _were mild and innocent,_

 _now in spirit the bones_

 _will not be complacent._

 _What an arrogant fool,_

 _rolling the dice, you dare._

 _Thinking life and fate_

 _owe you its share._

 _Refusing to hear the laughter_

 _of death at your door,_

 _you try to rattle another grave_

 _but fall to the floor._

 _At your death a feast is called,_

 _karma the only invited guest._

 _Now released memories_

 _can walk home to the grave and rest._

She placed the book beside the sleeping woman and slid under the covers of her own bed. She thought about how precise the words were. Then she wondered how much strength it took to control those emotions around the words. What evil has this woman seen to be able to enslave her emotions so well? JJ wasn't sure but she wanted to find out more about the sleeping woman's life.

She found herself looking for the book on the occasions that they roomed together hoping that the woman would fall asleep again like the first time so she could see into the secret world know as Emily Prentiss. She managed to glimpse it a couple more times before she realized she had been caught reading it. But Emily never mentioned it but started leaving the book out open to certain pages. When JJ would ask her about something personal that she didn't want or couldn't answer with vocal words so she would find them answered in the pages that were left open most of the time when the woman was in the shower.

This went on for months without either of them mentioning anything about it. It was like Emily needed someone to finally see and know what she could never express in the open. JJ had also noticed on the plane rides that the woman would write letters that she would see weeks later still in Emily's purse or in her coat pocket. Words expressed but would never be sent. She wondered if they were the words Emily wanted to express to someone but just didn't have the nerve to send them.

This case was no different than the others where Emily was concerned. JJ had seen the woman with blue stationary committing her tightly concealed thoughts to paper on the plane back to the B.A.U. When they arrived on the sixth floor they were met by Garcia who informed the exhausted team that they were to go on yet another case in Cumming Georgia. Where two sisters had been abducted less than three hours ago. The team wasn't fond of Georgia after the Hankel case where Reid had been abducted himself. They all looked over at the genius to gauge his emotional state. "Guy's I'm good let's go find these little girls." He said as he punched the down button on the elevator."

They were briefed on the case while in the air for the hour and half flight to Georgia. The team would have to hit the ground running in the cold winter night. None of them were looking forward to the weather. Freezing rain and sleet were being predicted. They had just come off a bad child case and now were going straight into another child abduction. The plane landed at 10 pm with the locals meeting them at the airport. Normally they would have met at the station but a new lead had the agents in the field straight way.

When they got to the wooded area they were split up into teams Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ went north east and Hotch, Gideon and Reid went north west. Both teams had a dog team with them which caused JJ some discomfort. Emily picked up on it and kept the woman to her left so she herself was next to the k9 team. It was cold and as predicted the freezing rain started shortly after they hit the woods.

There had been a report of two hunting cabins that could possible house their suspect that had been seen by a local hunter just hours ago with one of the sisters possibly in it. Team two which Hotch led reached their location first and found the cabin empty.

Team one reached their goal with Morgan pointing that he was going to take the front and the two women were to take the rear entrance. They made their way to the back and were almost in position when the unsub busted out the back door hitting Prentiss head on with the butt of his gun knocking her out and him down.

He got to his feet about the time that Morgan came running through jumping over a prone Emily and tackled the man and cuffed him. JJ was torn between going to the knocked-out agent or the crying children. "Go to the girls JJ, I got Prentiss." Morgan yelled after securing the suspect with the K9 officer. "Hotch we need medics Emily's down and we have the girls," he radioed.

The rest of the team got to their location about the time they were carrying Prentiss out of the woods on a back board. She still hadn't regained consciousness yet. JJ rode to the hospital with the girls while Morgan rode with Emily. It wasn't good that she hadn't regained consciousness. They were all worried about the hard-headed agent.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading**


	2. Chapter 2

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

 **Sorry just exhausted... but I have mapped the story in my head. It maybe be a tad bit longer than I first thought but we will see where the ladies take us. :)**

The sisters were checked out and released to their parents. Prentiss on the other hand was undergoing a CT to see how bad her head injury was. This wasn't the first time the team waited in the waiting area to see if Emily's head was okay. There was the time in Clearwater and again in San Antonio but those times the woman just required stitches and a twenty-four-hour watch detail. It seemed the agent had a flare for having her head in the way of criminal's fists, boards, etc.

"I can't believe she got hit in the head again." Morgan said to Hotch as they drank coffee. "She should have been in place to take the guy."

"How much more taking do you want Morgan she tackled him sort of." Reid said trying to stand up for his friend.

"Kid she should have been in place to where she didn't get hurt is what I'm saying."

"That was my fault," JJ spoke up from where she had been sitting replaying the events in the woods in her head over and over.

"No, it wasn't...Emily was in the lead and should have..."

"Yes...Morgan it was. You weren't there so shut up." She said interrupting him which caused a sour look to form on his face for a moment.

"What are we missing here JJ?" Hotch asked stepping in trying to calm tempers.

"We went around the side of the house and there was a dog further back chained to a tree. I'm not sure if it was the smell of the wet dog or the growling... but something threw me back into a flash back of the Hankel case and I stopped and started to shoot the animal. Emily saw what was going on and was coming back towards me when she heard the door fly open and turned. You know the rest."

"JJ, you can't help flash backs but you will need to go for some help when we get back to D.C." He said feeling guilty for not seeing the signs of ptsd in his media liaison before now.

"I know Hotch. Emily was the only one who knew I had trouble with dogs. She stayed between me and the K9 team the whole way up to the house and I was okay but the smell of the wet dogs was too over powering. I'm so sorry. Emily wouldn't be here if..."

"Don't go there." Gideon stepped into the conversation to comfort the young woman, "We never know what is waiting for us anywhere. We just have to take care of ourselves so we will be prepared to handle anything they throw at us."

"Emily Prentiss" was called out by a man wearing scrubs. Hotch turned, "We are here for her. I am SSA Hotchner. How is she?"

The man looked at everyone and realized her whole team was there so he spoke in a loud enough voice for all to hear since they were the only ones in the waiting room. "She is still unconscious. She took a nasty blow to the frontal lobe and when she fell forward she hit the area again. She will be out for a while but luckily there is no sign of brain swelling or injury. She may suffer from some short-term memory loss for a few days though."

"So, she is going to be okay?" JJ asked in a small voice.

"Yes mam, that lady in there has a very hard head." He said as they all busted out laughing knowing he didn't know the half of the truth of his statement.

"Can we see her?" JJ asked hoping.

"Normally I wouldn't allow it until the morning but I think two at a time is okay and one can stay with her overnight if you like." He said getting the feeling the lady was in need of seeing her co-worker.

"Thank you, doctor...let us know when we can go in." Hotch said shaking the man's hand before he left. "JJ I'm assuming you want to stay with Emily tonight." He said as JJ had already started shaking her head yes.

 **XXXXX**

It was 4 am and JJ hadn't slept a wink. She sat in a chair facing Emily and watched the woman's chest rising and falling and silently thanking God that she was alive to do so. She found herself getting lost in past memories of the brunette. She remembered the first time Emily had tried to help her get out of flash backs by taking her to question a man who might have given in sight on their case. Then she remembered the night in Las Cruces New Mexico when she had gotten her first glimpse of Emily's thoughts. The poem had been dark but very describing of the case they were on. The unsub had been very arrogant and it was his arrogance that finally got him caught by the team.

A thought hit her... the letter Emily was writing on the plane from the last case that they had just come off of was in her coat pocket that happened to be hanging in the closet not more than ten steps away. She started fighting with herself... if it was alright to read it or not… but curiosity won out. She stood up and started to take a step towards the closet when she heard, "Where am I?" Croaked out into the room.

"Em… you are awake."

"Yeah... ouch."

"Wait a minute don't try to sit up." She said too late as Emily tried but quickly fell back into the pillows holding her head in pain. JJ pressed the call button for the nurse as she made her way to the bed side.

"I take by the beeping noises and the smell of disinfectant plus the pounding of my head that I'm in the hospital."

"You would be correct." JJ said smiling at the grumpy woman.

"Damn..."

"Emily..."

"What? You know I hate hospitals."

"I know but you needed to come here. You've been unconscious for over four hours."

"She's awake?" The nurse asked as she came in to check vitals and see if Emily remembered anything.

JJ looked up at the woman, "She tried to sit up and had pain then she grumbled and complained about being here. That is where we are now."

"Are you sure about that?" The nurse asked smiling at JJ and nodding towards a sleeping Emily.

"I promise she was just talking to me."

"It's all good sweetie, she will probably do this a lot tonight. It's a good sign though." She said as she passed JJ to get the woman's vitals to chart.

JJ found herself sitting back in the chair trying to remember what she was going to do before Emily had woke up.

 **Thanks for reading... more to come promise.**


	3. Chapter 3

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ looked at her watch which said 5am. It would be getting light soon and she wondered how much longer it would be before Emily woke up again. She looked at the closet frustrated and made up her mind that she was going to break the unspoken agreement of only reading what the woman left open by retrieving the letter out of Emily's coat pocket. Making it to the door she opened it quietly and felt the damp wool. She shifted through the pockets and found nothing then remembered that the coat had inside pockets as well. Sticking her hand in it she felt the paper and pulled out an envelope that looked to have a card and a letter in it. She slowly turned the envelope around to the front and gasped as she saw her own name written on the front.

 ** _Jennifer_**

She pulled out a card with a picture of a beautiful yellow butterfly on it. She opened it and it said " _Happy Anniversary, Love Emily_." It was in the woman's hand writing but confusing to JJ. The blue stationary was folded inside. She walked back over to the chair because her legs had suddenly become shaky and she wasn't for sure if she wanted to read the letter now or not but knew she had to or it would cause problems in their relationship by her not knowing. She unfolded the pages like she was defusing a bomb for her heart was beating a thousand times a minute and her hands became sweaty. Finally, Emily's printed words were before her eyes:

 _Dear Jennifer,_

 _I have longed to say, write, or just express these words to you so many times. I have a shoe box of letters, cards and notes that I have written over the months we have known each other and yet they lay there silent it the dark shadows of a cardboard box. I hope this time will be different and I'll have the courage to hand you my words and express my heart. It is painful holding so much in but this last case made me really understand that unspoken words can hurt more than rejected ones._

 _I bought this card a year after we first met and have carried it with me everywhere we go in my go bag. The butterfly reminds me of how beautiful, graceful, and colorful you are. I just never had the right words to place in the card or were afraid of writing it wrong. You have asked me several times about my past but I could only open up to you in poems and quotes. Even now I must default to this method or just remain silent:_

 _A Golden Butterfly_

 ** _W_** _hat to do_

 _when sadness has no words?_

 _What can be said_

 _when the tears are dried_

 _like the desert's sands?_

 _What happens_

 _when the act of breath_

 _is a performance of demand?_

 ** _O_** _ne just sits in a space of universe;_

 _thinking, waiting_

 _to any moment implode._

 _The soul left praying_

 _to maybe fade away_

 _into a dark silence._

 _They look and wish_

 _for a peaceful banishment_

 _to be the form of deliverance..._

 ** _T_** _hen a quiet fluttering,_

 _just a brisk movement_

 _of golden wings is caught in their eye._

 _In its gracious movements_

 _the butterfly brings nourishment_

 _to the broken soul,_

 _feeding nectar of wisdom_

 _learned from the past._

 ** _O_** _h, sweet words of encouragement_

 _that soothe and defuse the enraged heart._

 _The butterfly spreads love, not_

 _caring the amounts needed;_

 _it wholeheartedly spreads its wings_

 _over the spaces vast._

 ** _A_** _mazingly, just as the sadness, the love has no words that are spoken;_

 _but is forever a bond_

 _of healing for the one who is broken._

 _Maybe one day I'll have sound for my voice but until then, Jennifer... You have to know this. You are my golden butterfly and have healed my soul by your gentle ways so much. Happy Anniversary of our meeting and may we be blessed to share spoken words someday._

 _Love...Emily_

JJ wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up and saw that two brown eyes were staring at her reading the letter.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. Yes, I know it's a cliff hanger and you all love me anyway. :)**

 **More later...promise.**


	4. Chapter 4

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ froze in a panic when she saw the woman looking at her with the letter in her hand but Emily gave no sign of emotion and she couldn't help the fear that was accumulating like a winter blizzard snow in the pit of her stomach. "Em..." no answer just the shutting of the woman's eyes like she had fallen back to sleep. She started to say something again but thought to herself, "In all honesty what do I say?"

She reread the letter several times. Every time through she would stop and reread Emily's statements in the first paragraph like they held the mysteries of the universe or at least the mystery to her friend.

 _I have longed to say, write, or just express these words to you so many times. I have a shoe box of letters, cards and notes that I have written over the months we have known each other and yet they lay there silent in the dark shadows of a cardboard box. I hope this time will be different and I'll have the courage to hand you my words and express my heart. It is painful holding so much in but this last case made me really understand that unspoken words can hurt more than rejected ones._

"What words were you wanting to express to me?" She thought as she also wondered if she should put the letter back into Emily's coat or not. Should they both go on pretending that she hadn't read it or should she finally face all the unspoken words. She folded the letter placed it in the card then back into the envelope and started to go towards the closet and stopped half way there and said "no" out loud. She then placed the envelope in the back pocket of her jeans and was going to pull out her phone when Reid walked in.

"How is she?"

JJ looked up, "She woke up twice, once around 4 am and again a few moments ago."

"How are you doing?" He asked as he saw the starting of dark circles under the woman's eyes.

"I'm fine just stiff. Do you mind staying with her while I stretch my legs a bit?"

"Not at all I brought a book just in case you needed a break."

"Thanks Spence try not to have _War and Peace_ read by the time I get back." She said looking at the size of the book the genius had in his hand. "It's _Moby Dick_ by Herman Melvelle," he said just as the door closed and JJ had her phone up to her ear.

"Not that I mind but what has you calling the goddess of knowledge at this hour sweetness? And how is the brown eyed princess?"

"Hey Pen... Emily is fine. Well for the most part." She paused getting tied up not sure in what she should reveal, "She woke up a couple of times and spoke once."

"That's good but from your voice it doesn't sound like it. What's up JJ?"

"No... it's good but complicated."

"You are not making sense. Talk to me."

"Remember how I use to wonder what Emily was writing when we were on the plane?"

"Yeah, but that's been over a year ago and you haven't mentioned it in a long while."

"I know..."

"...wait a minute you didn't read something you weren't suppose too?" Pen asked interrupting her friend figuring out where this was going.

"Well... yes."

"Get out of here." She said shocked and gasping, "JJ if Em finds out she will shoot you and what did it say?"

"Pen..."

"What? She will shoot you but I need to know facts in case I'm needed to testify as to why she killed you." The woman said giggling.

"This was a bad idea. I'll talk to you later."

"No... I'll be good what's going on?"

"I'm not sure Pen. The letter turned out to be for me. She wrote some very sweet words about how I had healed her in ways and she was grateful to me." She paraphrased not wanting to give too much away, "But that's not what's got me calling you."

"Then what has you calling me?"

"When I finished the letter then looked up… she was staring at me."

"Oh crap. What did she say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing... come on JJ you are killing me here."

"Sorry Pen... but she didn't say a word. She just closed her eyes and went back to sleep. I couldn't read her at all and now I'm not sure if I should confront her or not."

"Why are you making a big deal of it then other than you did violate her personal thoughts but you said it was sweet?"

"The letter moved my heart Pen. I felt something that I only felt one time before when she caught my arm after shooting the dogs at the Hankel farm."

"You are just having flash backs honey. It will be okay."

"No..." She said frustrated, "Okay… yes I had a flash back last night but this isn't about being afraid."

"What is it about then?"

"I think I love her."

"WHAT?" Was said as JJ pulled the phone away to save her ear drums from exploding.

"I know it's crazy Pen and promise me you won't say anything to anyone. I have to figure this out somehow."

"I won't breathe a word... but JJ have you ever dated a woman?"

"No... but I was asked a lot in college."

"Did she say she loved you?" She paused a moment, "Where is this coming from?"

"No... and I don't know... I just feel it deep in my heart. Maybe I've always felt it and this letter has made me acknowledge it. I've made up my mind I'm going to confront her with this. I need to know what all this means."

"Be careful JJ. You know Ms. Broody doesn't like sharing her emotions except contempt. I'm not so sure she's not into women. Lord knows she doesn't go out with men that we know of."

"I know... I'll be careful. Thanks for letting me vent."

"Anytime and JJ..."

"Yeah..."

"I expect a full report plus we need to sit and have a long conversation when you get back Missy."

"I wouldn't expect anything less Pen." She said laughing and rolling her eyes as she ended the call. Putting the phone in her pocket she felt the edges of the card and took a deep breath and said in a whispered prayer, "I hope I'm right."

"You hope you are right about what?" Reid said as she jumped at hearing his voice.

"That Emily is okay." She said scrambling for words, "How long have you been there?"

"I just opened the door now. Emily is awake now and wants to see you."

"Crap." Was said under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing..." She said as she went through the door on her way back to Emily's room leaving the genius standing there scratching his head wondering what he had said.

 **Thanks for reading... sorry short chapters but at least I'm posting. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ entered the hospital room and noticed that Emily was sitting upright and talking with the doctor who was questioning what she remembered. The brunette was less than pleasant and border lining on cantankerous. "I told you the last thing I remember is looking at JJ and going towards her at the cabin. Now I want to know if she is alright?" The woman said through clenched teeth.

"Em... the doctor is just trying to check you out ease up on him." JJ said trying to defuse Emily's temper by letting her see that she was okay.

"JJ..." was breathed out on a breath that they could tell was being held in by fear of the worst.

"I'm right here."

"You are alright then?"

"I'm good." She said as Emily smiled finally and turned her attention towards the doctor, "When can I leave?" She asked now that she knew her friend was okay.

The doctor looked at JJ, "This one wins the congeniality award at work, doesn't she?"

"Every year." JJ said laughing at the snarl that she got from Emily.

"Well I believe the worst is over and you can check out by this afternoon."

"Can she fly?" JJ asked knowing that would be the next question out of Emily's mouth.

"Yes, she could possibly get a head ache but Advil should handle it."

"What about her memories?" She asked as Emily looked at her questioningly.

"They may return within hours, days, or not at all." He said then looked at his patient, "What day is it Ms. Prentiss."

"Agent Prentiss and it is Tuesday." She huffed back at him.

"What are the three words I told you to remember at the first of our conversation?"

Emily rolled her eyes as she was getting frustrated at all the stupid questions, "bus, window, and duck."

"Good... her short-term memory loss seems to be from the time she was hit up until she woke up a few moments ago. Now Agent Prentiss..." he said correcting himself and looking at her, "I will come back and check on you in a few hours. When I return I would like you to repeat those same words to me when I walk in. If you succeed in doing so I will release you to your team." The doctor's words automatically cheered the pouting woman up.

"No problem with that doctor. Thank you for your help."

"Now she's pleasant..." he said on his way out as he passed by JJ, "...you have your hands full with this one, don't you?"

"You have no idea." She said and winked at the smiling man.

"Are you through flirting with the doctor?" Emily half growled at her.

"I wasn't flirting..." She said rolling her eyes at the woman. "...how does your head feel?"

"Like I'm at the shooting range without the protective gear."

"Ouch..."

"Yeah... he ordered me something. I should..."

"Ms. Prentiss, I have your medicine," came the voice from the door as a pretty young red head nurse brought Emily her pills. She handed her some water as the woman took them.

JJ watched her reaction to the young woman. She noticed how her features softened and she even smiled at the woman. Then when she walked away she could have sworn Emily checked her out for a brief moment. She chided herself that it was just wishful thinking on her part.

"So, it seems I missed the take down. Were the girls okay?" Emily asked looking at JJ starring at her. She waited a few moments but when there wasn't a response, "JJ?" She said louder.

"Humm" She said shaking herself out of the thoughts she was thinking realizing she was being asked something that she really needed to answer.

"I asked if the girls were okay?" She said again giving JJ a look of "Are you okay?"

"Oh...yeah they came in with you and were released last night to their parents."

"So, we made it in time before anything could happen to them."

"Yes... we made it before there was physical damage but emotional may take some time."

"It always does." She said shifting her look to the blanket covering her. JJ stuck that comment and response into her memory bank to discuss later. She knew if she pushed at the moment she would get a bristled back response and total silence. She didn't need Emily retreating back into her emotional caves if she was going to get any answers from her. "Is my go bag here?"

"Right in my hand my hard-headed lady." Morgan said as he came in carrying her bag. "How's the patient of the year doing?"

"Don't start Morgan." She snarled at him.

"OOO... nasty as I thought she would be." He said smiling a bright smile. "Has the nurses quit yet?"

"Hey!"

"What you know it's true. Remember in San Antonio when you had the English and Spanish speaking nurses ready to walk out."

"That wasn't my fault. They didn't know what they were doing."

"Emily one of the ladies had a master degree in nursing from Vanderbilt." Reid interjected.

"Who asked you?" She growled.

"Alright...boys out before she hurts you." JJ said in her best mother voice.

"She wished she could hurt me." Morgan said and started to run when Emily threw back the covers to get up.

JJ caught her by the shoulders before she made it to the side of the bed yelling at the guys, "Out you two!"

"What is going on in here?" Hotch asked as he heard the yelling from the hallway and came in giving everyone a stern look.

"Nothing Hotch the fellows were just leaving so Emily can lay back down and rest." JJ said giving everyone their cues with a "You better do what I say if you know what is best for you" look.

"Yeah we just brought Em her bag before we go and get some breakfast." Morgan said as he pushed Reid out into the hallway to escape the wrath of Hotch.

He looked at JJ as she was helping Emily cover back up. "How is she doing?"

"She is doing fine because she isn't deaf or dead. God I'm right here. Why does everyone talk around me?" Emily asked the air in an exacerbated voice.

"Maybe because they do not like being growled at or chased?" JJ answered in a teasing tone.

Emily looked up at her with a glare but before she could say anything Hotch interjected, "I see she is improving then. I hear that we may be able to leave by this afternoon."

"You heard right. " JJ answered while Emily was still glaring at her.

"Alright then call us and we will pick you up on the way to the air field. I'm going to take Morgan and Reid with me so Emily doesn't put them in the hospital and delay us further." He said as Emily now glared at him instead of JJ who was trying to suppress a laugh. "I think that would be best." She said and left it at that hoping the woman would settle back down.

"You people make my head hurt." Emily said reaching for her fore head and closing her eyes shutting the world out. JJ noticed and inwardly was dishearten knowing she wasn't going to get any information out of the stubborn woman any time soon.

* * *

 **Okay...promise another update within twenty-four hours. Trust me it's really good how this all pulls together. Thanks for reading and for your patients. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ was surprised when the doctor released Emily. She had given him a smart-ass sentence of the three words she was supposed to remember that stunned him. He had walked in and she looked at him and spoke in Italian "si dovrebbe prendere il prossimo autobus e guardare fuori dalla finestra causa avete bisogno di un anatra."

"Who knew he spoke Italian?" JJ thought and laughed remembering his reaction. He couldn't sign the papers quick enough wishing JJ "...all the luck in the world with that one."

After the man left she asked Emily what she had said. The woman smiled a cheeky grin, "I said, you should catch the next bus and look out the window because you need a duck." Even now JJ couldn't stop the grin on her face. They had just sat down and was getting ready for takeoff when she looked over at Emily giving her a questioningly look of "are you okay." Emily smiled back at her letting her know that her head wasn't hurting and if the words had been spoken to "stop worrying."

After they were air borne for about fifteen minutes and everyone was settled in for the flight home, JJ got up to go and get some waters for her and Emily. Hotch was going to get himself a cup of coffee and caught her. "How is Emily doing."

"She's okay Hotch, she still doesn't have any memories past coming towards me at the cabin and waking up this morning though." She looked and noticed Emily was starting to search her coat pockets for something. She knew what the woman was looking for but couldn't say a word or get out of the conversation with Hotch at the moment either.

She then saw Emily stand up and start patting the inside of her coat and stop then she looked up and caught sight of JJ's eyes and froze. She knew by the panicked look in Emily's eyes she was beginning to remember where the letter was.

"JJ..." Hotch said frustrated.

"What? Oh, sorry Hotch I zoned out a moment." She said coming back to their conversation and tried to play her distraction off as best she could.

"I said we need to have a talk about all of this when we get back to D.C. I'll give you some time but it will not be brushed under the rug. You are too important to this team."

"Thanks... and you are right. I promise I will come and talk with you in a couple of days." She said halfheartedly smiling at her boss trying to appease him enough to get back to her seat. All she wanted at the moment was to go to Emily and quail her fears but couldn't get out of the conversation quickly enough to do so. When she finally managed to make it back to her seat she found Emily going through her purse looking for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"Some Advil my head is splitting and I can't find it."

"Hand me that..." She said taking Emily's purse from her hands knowing the woman was avoiding the elephant in the room, "You always keep it in a pill box in this pocket." She said handing her the box and the bottle of water she had gotten her. Emily looked at her and JJ's heart fell to her stomach as she saw unshed tears brimming and threatening to break the dam to run down the woman's cheeks.

"Thank you," was spoken in a whisper as she took the medicine and drunk the water.

"Why don't you lay back and close your eyes we have another hour before we land." JJ said having mercy on the woman who was on the edge before her. The woman laid back thankfully as JJ got one of the blankets from the overhead bins and covered her up.

 **XXXXX**

They would be landing in fifteen minutes and Emily was still sleeping until Hotch stood and gave instructions to the team on their schedule. They were to have the rest of the week off except for the debriefing which Emily wasn't a part of since she didn't remember anything to his knowledge. JJ planned on keeping it that way to protect the emotional woman beside her.

"Do you need a ride home?" She asked Emily who had started to really wake up as they landed.

"No... I can drive home."

"You are the stubbornness woman I have ever met." Morgan piped in after hearing JJ's question. Emily glared at him, "You know your head is still pounding and you can't even hardly open them."

"I'll take a cab then." She said through gritted teeth.

JJ touched her arm and Emily forcefully pulled it away like a wounded animal as she glared at Morgan, "Em..." She said softly knowing the woman was on the edge.

Emily slowly turned and looked at tender blue eyes, "Let me drop you off at your condo. You can sleep on the way over and Morgan and Pen can follow us and bring your car." She said allowing Emily to know she wasn't going to push her for answers or explanations but truly was thinking of her safety.

"You really shouldn't be driving Emily." Reid added in his two cents worth in.

"Okay...okay..." She said holding her head, "Just be quite please... drive me home."

"Emily do you need to go back to the hospital?" Hotch asked after the plane came to a stop and hearing the fuss. He knew the woman would give them grief again if he didn't intervene and threatened the hospital.

"No… I'll be okay with rest and quite."

"Okay… Whose driving you home?" He not so much asked as gave an order for a volunteer, all the while looking at Emily.

"I'm driving her home Hotch. She will be fine." JJ said giving him a reassuring look.

"Good. I'll see you all tomorrow at 2 pm for the debrief except for you Prentiss. I expect you to be resting and will see you on Monday as usual."

"Yes sir." She said as she stood to gather her stuff for the drive home that she was dreading.

They made it to JJ's car where she melted into the seat like a child with an angry parent waiting for the shoe to drop but JJ was true to her word and let the woman sleep. The only question that was asked was if she had anything to eat at her place or did she need to stop and pick something up. JJ drove straight to Emily's condo when the answer was a quick "no nothing was needed" were she let the woman out at the safety of the door of her building.

 **We are coming up around the bend. I will post another chapter tonight.**


	7. Chapter 7

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ walked into the B.A.U the next day at 10am. She knew it would only be moments later that her best friend Penelope would be making her way up the stairs and to her office. She sat down in her seat placing her satchel on the desk and started pulling out some files and as if on cue she heard a knock on her door. "Come on in Pen but you better have coffee or don't bother." She said as she heard giggling on the other side as the colorful woman opened the door and came in.

"Wow...Pen you are normally a rainbow of sunshine but I can honestly say you are just the rainbow today." She said looking at the multi colors the woman just was.

"It's all for you honey...it's all for you." She said laughing and handing JJ her coffee. "So how is my yearning newly found out lesbian?"

"You shouldn't have and I'm not a lesbian...at least wise not yet." She said rolling her eyes and sipping the coffee.

"Okay now that we have your caffeine fix under control spill woman."

"What more do you want to know. You saw me drop Emily at her condo. That was it."

"Alright Missy don't go getting all Prentissy on me."

"What?" JJ said burrowing her eyebrows at her not understanding the woman's train of thought.

"If you go hiding your emotions like she does then you two will never get together."

"I'm not so sure if that's going to happen anyway Pen. I want it too but..."

"Okay...let's start there. You have never mentioned liking a girl let alone loving one before Emily. What's up with that?"

"Pen I want to talk this out but I'm afraid too. It has taken me over a year for her to trust me this much and I'm afraid that I may have already missed up the trust I was given."

"JJ don't give me that. I sat in the car with Morgan telling me all about Ms. thing's tantrum on the plane yesterday and didn't say a word even though my stud muffin was all confused as to why she reacted so strongly to your touch. Do you know how hard that was for me?"

"I do know how hard it was." JJ said smiling a grateful smile at her friend. "If I tell you any of this you have to swear on your photo shop pictures of Morgan not to say a word."

"You drive a hard bargain JJ but I swear." JJ began at the start and finished with the incident on the plane, "...so see she was acting like a hurt animal and I was the one I believe that hurt her by reading the letter."

"Oh honey... she was just scared now that you know she cares about you so deeply." Pen said coming and patting JJ on the back.

"I know Pen but how do you show someone that it's okay to feel that way and you don't have to hide it?"

"You treat them like an animal..." JJ looked at her like she was crazy, "...you said she acted like a hurt animal. Well...how do you get a hurt animal to trust you?"

JJ just looked at her questioningly again, "You feed them and over time they learn to trust you." The woman said with her arms out stretched like presenting a sales pitch to a client. All of a sudden, a thought came to JJ's mind and she knew exactly what she was going to do.

"Thanks Pen, you are amazing."

"Well dah... but what are you scheming in that pretty little head of yours?"

"I'll tell you later if it works but I have to finish these reports by two."

"You better be glad I love you dumpling or that excuse wouldn't fly."

"I know and I love you for it now I really do need to finish this."

"You love me... like you love Emily?" She said with a smirk on her face.

"Oh, for the love of god!" JJ said pinching her nose.

"Just pulling your draw strings sugar. You can't handle this package only manly thighs of steel can take on Mount Everest and survive." She said as they both busted out laughing. "Go way before I call security."

"I'm leaving..." She said as she made her way to the door, "But just remember in a few months when you and Ms. broody are all hot and lovey there are cameras in here so don't be getting your freak on at work."

"You are so in trouble." JJ said as she threw a notebook at the closing door then heard a howl of laughter fading as Pen walked down the stairs back to her lair.

* * *

 **Next stop... JJ goes gambling... will post another chapter within the next twenty four. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Hotch saw JJ walking down the walk way on her way to the conference room for their two o'clock meeting. He sped his walk up to catch her before she reached the room, "JJ..." He called out before she was to turn into the room. She turned and held up waiting for him. "I need to speak with you after the meeting is over." She shook her head in acknowledgement hoping it wasn't about what happened in Georgia but knowing it probably was.

They went in and saw the rest of the team there including Emily. She took in a deep breath and headed for the only seat left which just happened to be right next to the woman thanks to Garcia sitting next to Morgan. She went to the chair and bit the bullet and offered an olive branch again, "How are you feeling?" She asked while scooting up to the table.

"I'll live," was the short reply causing JJ to look at the woman who gave her a half smile but still her eyes were blank causing JJ to shiver.

Hotch made it to the front of the room, "Emily you didn't have to make this meeting. I thought I was clear on that."

"I have some notes here at the office I needed and thought I would stay for the debrief." He looked at her like "that's all you got." She looked blankly back at him like "yep and that's what I'm sticking with." The team just watched the war of wills like a tennis match which Emily won the first set but they knew she was far from winning the match. "Okay let's get started then." He said gruffly.

 **XXXXX**

Two hours later the meeting was breaking up and Emily stood and went to talk to Hotch when his phone rang. It was the director calling the team in to assist the leo's in Dallas. The team was directed to go to the jet where they would be briefed on the plane. Hotch was less than thrilled when Emily insisted on coming but he couldn't argue the point of her being there if nothing else to run victim ology.

Wheels were up in less than twenty. The team settled into seats but JJ sat with Hotch listening to details on the teenage college students missing. There had been a total of three in the last week with the first's body being discovered just four hours ago. One of the other girls was the daughter of a highly profiled Politian which is why the team was in the air so quickly. The news would hit national level even before they landed. JJ was preparing herself for the vultures of the press that she knew she would have to stare down to help keep two other girls hopefully from being killed.

She looked up from a file and saw Emily starring at her holding the envelope that she had placed in the woman's coat when she was talking to Hotch earlier in the conference room. It was in her hand unopened. They looked at each other for several moments until Hotch broke the spell unknowingly. "Okay what do we know so far?" He started as she placed the letter back in her coat pocket. The women knew that the unspoken words would have to wait yet again for lives were at stake.

"The unsub seems to like brunettes between eighteen and twenty years old." Emily started with a general statement apparent to all of them trying to redirect her thoughts back onto the case which was apparently hard for her to do but only one person knew why...JJ.

"You okay there Emily?" Morgan asked noticing she looked pale.

"I'm fine." She said glaring at him, "Our unsub may also leave hickeys." She added as they all looked up at her questioning her observation. "Look on Jessica's left inner thigh about six inches above her knee... that's a soft bite or suck mark."

"Dang your good Emily..." They heard from the lap top screen. "...just how do you know that? And you are correct because the M.E. saw the same thing and noted it at the crime scene." Garcia said giggling at Emily who was blushing as the team looked at her to answer. "I've seen it before and we will leave it there… Pen." She said through gritted teeth.

"Good catch Emily." Hotch said and turned to the screen, "Garcia see if there is enough for a dental imprint or saliva to match."

"There isn't..." Emily said before she could stop herself. "She's right...I already asked." Garcia said as they all looked at her with some in wonder and the others in awe. "Garcia has the M.E. checked the woman's mouth for skin fragments in her teeth?" Emily asked just forgetting the team. There were two lives in the balance and she had the information maybe that would possibly save them.

"The report doesn't say anything about it."

"What makes you think there would be?" Morgan asked curiously. Emily looked down out her hands and took a deep breath and said, "Trust me they will find some I'm sure of it." Morgan started to ask something more but JJ distracted them, "We are about to land everyone in your seats." They looked up to see the fasten your seat belt sign on she was pointing to. Then the captain came on saying the same thing causing Morgan to lose his train of thought leaving Emily alone.

She was happy it succeeded for the moment remembering seeing that same look on Emily's face at the hospital less than forty-eight hours ago. Emily caught her eye and gave her a look of thanks which caused her heart to swell because she was the one finally protecting Emily instead of the other way around and smiled at her as they landed on yet another cause within a week span.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading... this story is having surprises for me as well... but I will always let it go the way it needs and wants too.**


	9. Chapter 9

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

In front of the precinct were a zoo of reporters, cops, and on lookers all wanting answers immanently of the B.A.U team. Hotch had sent Morgan and Gideon to where the body had been found. Reid and Prentiss went to the morgue so she could get a closer look at the body and to see if any skin was found in the victim's mouth like she had suggested would be there. Leaving himself and JJ to try and fight to get into the precinct by dodging pointed questions. It all was giving JJ a sick feeling in her stomach about the case.

Emily walked into the morgue and the smell of alcohol and formaldehyde turned her stomach instantly but she swallowed the acids back down keeping what was in there in place for the moment. She was motioned over to a far table where a small impression of a body could be seen from the sheet covering it. The M.E. pulled it back without emotion and the sudden chill that one laying naked on a table would feel if they were alive filled Emily's body and soul freezing her emotions allowing her to do her job.

She looked carefully at the spots she noticed in the pictures on the plane and knew in her heart that they were dealing with two different unsubs but she just couldn't bring herself to explain to her team how she knew. She also knew who the unsubs were and she would be damned if she would let them get away with it again. She raised up and looked at Reid, "Have you seen what you need?" He was taken off guard by the question but wasn't about to extend their time in the morgue with the look in Emily's eyes. "I'm good." He said as she nodded to the M.E. to cover up the young woman and they walked out of the morgue heading to the precinct to meet up with the team and find out what they had learned.

The team seemed to come together all at once in the small conference room. "What did you see at the disposal site?" Hotched asked looking at Morgan to answer. However, JJ watched the expressions on Emily's face as she actually wrenched at the words disposal site. "It was clean Hotch. It looked like it had been swept by pros. No foot prints or tire marks." Morgan said scratching his head. "Man… it was like she was dropped from the sky or just appeared there."

"They are always perfect." Emily said while looking at the table not realizing she had voiced her thoughts. "You have something to add to this Prentiss?" Gideon asked. She looked up confusedly. "I said do you have something you want to add. It seems you have an expertise on what we are dealing with here so enlighten us." She looked at each of the pairs of eyes looking at her and took a deep breath.

"I believe we are not looking for one unsubs per say but a couple with a cover up team." She said watching her words carefully. Hotch looked at her puzzled, "What did you two find out at the morgue?" When she didn't start answering him right away Reid said, "The M.E. didn't find skin in the victim's mouth but did find that the woman's teeth had been brushed and flossed postmortem. If there was skin in her mouth then it was more than likely removed."

They all returned their attention back to Emily who still hadn't given any indication she was going to add to her original comment. "Emily… you know something that you are not telling us. What is it?" Hotch asked getting frustrated. She looked up again at her team, "I am only going to say this once…" she said pausing to look at them all, "… there are people who are called untouchables but they aren't if you are very careful and expose enough of their arrogance. They will hang themselves if given enough rope. That is the only way we are going to save the other two girls lives and get justice for the innocent girl in the morgue." She said hoping they would understand but only one set of eyes comprehended her words.

"What are you saying Emily? You are talking in riddles that make no sense and what do you know of untouchables you came off a desk job?" Morgan asked degrading her. She shot up and glared at him.

"The job is not the only place people see horrors gentlemen. Children know them to but I thought you Morgan of all people would understand that." She said as she walked out of the room to the bathroom leaving the men with their mouths wide open and JJ following after her.

JJ took a deep breath before pushing the door to the bathroom open, "Em...Are you okay?" no answer only the sound of someone's stomach retching out. She went and grabbed some paper towels and wetted them with cold water then found the stall that Emily was in on her knees losing what was in her stomach. JJ knelt behind her and caught her hair up and pined it with her own hair tie and placed one of the wet towels on the back of her neck. She began rubbing circles on the woman's back trying to help calm her down. Emily had several moments of dry heaves which was all that was left to give to the porcelain god. But thankfully those also became quite with the circles being drawn on her back and the wiping of her fore head that JJ was doing from time to time.

Emily reached up and flushed the toilet and started to stand but was weakened from the heaving. "Shhh... just sit here a minute and let your body get some strength back. I will go and get you some Sprite." She said as she left the woman with her head resting against the wall of the stall to go and get the soda hoping it would help calm Emily's stomach even more.

Hotch saw her come out of the rest room and quickly called to her, "JJ..." The woman held one finger up and continued to the soda machine to get what her friend needed. He followed her to the machine and realized what was going on. "How is she?"

"She has lost everything in her stomach and I'm sure the dry heaves she has had is making her head pound like a rock concert but other than that she seems to be grand. " She said sarcastically and with a touch of an angry tone.

Hotch gave her a stern look, "Look we need both of you to save those girls. We don't..."

JJ held up a hand to shut him up. "Hotch before you finish that statement and I lose my job hear me out." He looked shocked at her but nodded for her to continue. "We think of Emily as part of the team like us. A white-collar worker earning a paycheck week to week but we forget many times she is from a world of privilege. She grew up with diplomats and politicians and knows their ways better than we ever could. I believe she knows what she is talking about. I also think she knows who the unsubs are but she can't tell us things because of some privilege code or lack of proof. But whatever it is I believe she has already said more than she should and it is tearing her up that she can't tell us everything. I also know this... my gut is saying to me "she is the only one who knows how to catch these people before two more girls are dead and everything is swept under a rug that supposedly doesn't exist."

He looked at her and his face softened. "Unfortunately, I think you are right JJ and this all could blow up in all of our faces. We need Emily to get her head in the game and trust us. She needs to get some rest tonight and start fresh tomorrow. I have the guys chasing down leads so we look busy for the locals and the media. Take her to the hotel and make sure the both of you take care of yourselves. We will meet back here at eight am and that's an order." He said as he walked back into the conference room and she returned back to Emily.

The woman drank the soda slowly making sure it wouldn't come back up on her. After two swallows and ten minutes passing the two decided the woman would make it and they took one of the SUV's and checked into the hotel.

* * *

 **Well this has turned out to be something totally different but it's exciting... :)**

 **Thanks for following it... another posting soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

The two women made it to their rooms without Emily having to throw up. They had to stop halfway to the hotel and let the woman relieve her stomach of the soda she drank at the precinct but made it to the hotel with no more incidents. JJ opened the door and carried in their go bags that she had to fight Emily for at the car and finally won. "Why don't you take the bed nearest the bathroom Em."

"I think that would be wise tonight I'm sorry to say."

"Look it's only nine thirty I'm going to go and get you something for your stomach." She said worrying about Emily's health.

"I'm fine JJ..."

"No, you are not. I'll be back in a few. Why don't you take a shower while I'm gone? It might help." She said as she closed the door to their room that they were sharing. She had wondered if Pen had something to do with the mix up of only five rooms instead of six but she would handle that later, right now her concern was Emily's health.

 **XXXXX**

Emily stood from where she had sat down on her bed and pulled her coat off and started to lay it on the bed when a thought hit her. She pulled the envelope out of the pocket of her coat that she knew was there and turned it seeing her name written on the front in the neat hand writing of Jennifer Jareau. Sitting back down on the bed she just held it there looking at it not believing she was holding a piece of the woman's thoughts. She took a deep breath gathering her courage and closed her eyes as she pulled the paper out of the envelope. She held it up to her nose and smelled the smallest hint of lavender which was the smell of JJ's lotion that sat on her desk in D.C. letting her know where the letter was more and most likely written. Another deep breath and she unfolded the single piece of paper.

 _Emily,_

 _I cannot write poetry nor can I put to words everything that your letter caused me to feel._

 _The only thing I know I can do is be honest with you._

 _If I am your golden butterfly then you have to be my favorite rose that feeds my soul sweet nectar!_

 _Love... Jennifer_

She sat there starring at the words over and over not realizing tears had begun to warm her cheeks. The door to the room opened with JJ walking in expecting to hear the shower running but saw Emily holding the only words she could come up with to try and tell the woman how she felt. She held her breath a moment as Emily looked up at her. Seeing the tears on the woman's face caused her to make it to her in less than three steps as she slid across the bed between them to kneel in front of the crying woman. Emily never took her eyes off the woman once she looked up and now was looking into blue eyes threatening to tear up as well. They stayed that way for several moments until JJ inquired, "Em..."

"Do you mean it?" Was asked in a deep cracking voice as the letter was held up to eye sight.

"With all my heart." JJ said as she lifted up and engulfed the woman in an embrace. She felt Emily start to sob into her shoulder and heard her almost begging in a prayer like way, "Please mean it...oh please... but don't."

She pulled back looking into blood red brown eyes as the woman continued to sob bringing her hands up to cover her face. "Em... honey you are not making sense to me." She didn't have time to answer JJ because she was up and running just making it in time to the toilet as the heaving started from her stomach again.

JJ went back to the bags she had put on the floor before hurdling the bed and got the box of Dramamine out. Then she went to the sink and took a wash cloth and ran it under the cold water and knelt down behind Emily and placed the cloth on the woman's neck and started rubbing circles on her back again like she had in the precinct's restroom earlier that day.

It didn't take as long this time for the dry heaves to settle down. Emily found herself unable to stand on her knees anymore and started to fall to the side when JJ's strong arms came around her waist, "Shhh... fall back and rest on me. It's okay sweetie...everything is going to be okay." She said and kissed the top of her head. The normally strong and independent woman didn't have an ounce of energy left in her to fight the soft pillow of JJ's chest and laid her head back on her. They sat like that for over thirty minutes. Emily had fallen asleep on her chest and JJ just couldn't bring herself to wake the woman up but the tiles had become uncomfortable and the room was becoming cold. She also knew Emily needed to get under some cover or risk catching a cold.

"Em...honey... we need to get you into bed." She said as she gently shook the sleeping woman.

"I bet you tell that to all the women," was crooned out in a sultry voice.

JJ looked around to see if the woman was truly awake or dreaming and found that she was very much asleep but smiling from ear to ear. "Em..."

"I know it's closing time but don't go. You always leave and I'm left here missing you."

"Emily honey wake up you are drea..." She didn't get to finish the statement because Emily had slid down to her lap and reached up and pulled her head down towards her face. When the distance was right she pulled JJ into a kiss all the while with her eyes closed. JJ slowly pulled away from the lip lock, "Not that I mind but I want you fully awake and realizing you are kissing me when we do this again." She said shaking the woman with authority, Emily...wake up."

"What..." She said as she sat straight up almost hitting her head on the toilet.

"Careful..." JJ said reaching up to be a buffer between the woman's head and the porcelain. Emily turned and looked around trying to figure out where she was. "JJ...why are we sitting on the bathroom floor?"

"You fell asleep after heaving your guts."

"Oh...yeah." She said as she stood and offered a hand to JJ to help her up. "Please don't ever tell anyone about this. Morgan will not let me live it down."

"I won't if you tell me who you were dreaming about before I woke you up." She said teasingly wanting to know who the woman kissed in her dreams. Emily looked at her a moment then walked out into the bedroom to change into her sleeping clothes. JJ followed and changed into her night attire as well leaving the question she asked to be answered once again by unspoken words.

* * *

 **okay I wrote this last night be hadn't finished reading it to post... I'm at the library and am going to write hopefully another chapter and get it up in a little bit. So this really isn't a cliff hanger even though it is... :)**


	11. Chapter 12

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

 **In editing I screwed up and deleted chapter 11. I have rewritten it but to keep everything in order I had to combine chapter 11 and 12 together. I apologize if it reads differently.**

P

JJ walked out of the bathroom. "Emily talk to me."

"I can't…" was said as a t-shirt was pulled down and she turned and faced JJ.

"You can't or won't? What was all that "…let this be real thing... but please don't…" business?"  
"There are things I can't talk about and you deserve to be in a relationship that isn't complicated."

"You think that I do not know that?" Emily looked at her puzzled.

"JJ there are so many things I can't talk about… so many words I have to leave unspoken and that will always have to be." She said giving a pleading look for understanding.

"I know you are a privet person. I want to love you… can't we just work on that?" She said as she went and picked up her bag in frustration knowing she wasn't going to get an answer by the look on the woman's face. she decided to leave well enough alone and went to change in the bathroom, giving them both some space to think things through.

She went and turned the lights out after changing. She could tell that the woman in the next bed was still awake even though her eyes were closed. She wondered if they would sleep at all tonight given all the tension between them, but at some point, they both had fallen asleep because she was awakened by Emily's voice.

"You move and I will shoot you," was growled out.

JJ slowly opened her eyes and saw Emily with her hands holding and imaginary gun that was pointed at the mirror. Then her hands moved in a rapid session like she was firing. "I knew I would get to stop you one day!" Was yelled out into the room.

JJ knew she would have to be very gentle in waking the sleeping woman. She also wondered who Emily was wanting to kill in her sleep.

"Em… honey it's JJ." She tried with her voice to achieve waking the woman up to no avail. But her voice did stop the movement of shooting, so she tried it again. "Em… honey who are you shooting at?"

Emily turned her face towards JJ and looked at her. She was still in a fog and had her hands still pointing at the mirror that would have been blown into the next room by now if she had her Glock in her hands.

"What?"

"Who are you shooting at?" JJ asked and pointed at her hands.

Emily looked down then back up at JJ. "I… I…" she dropped her hands down and started to shake. JJ's heart sank seeing her reaction but she still was cautious in her movements towards the woman.

"Can I sit?" She asked pointing at the bed. Emily scooted over and made room for her to sit. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No… but you do deserve an answer to your question in the bathroom." She said looking up into blue eyes. She paused trying to gain her courage to continue, "Most nights I have this reoccurring dream.

I am at this bar and you walk in and it's like we know each other but we don't… I ask you to dance and we are so close but you always leave before I get to kiss you…"

"…until tonight." JJ finished her sentence.

"Yes… until tonight. I finally was able to touch your lips." She said slowly as JJ was starting to lean towards her looking at her lips. It didn't take long until lips touched. It wasn't a frantic kiss but a tender acquainting moment.

When they broke apart JJ slid under the covers with her. Words weren't needed and nothing was pressed. They laid there kissing off and on holding each other until they both fell back asleep.

 **XXXXX**

JJ awoke to two brown eyes staring at her as she had been sleeping. "Why are you watching me? And how long have you been watching me?"

"About an hour..." Emily said lifting her eyebrows, "...and I was thinking."

"About what?"

"How nice this is and how I hope it can stay this way." JJ lifted up and rolled Emily on her back without breaking eye contact then connected their lips in a tentative kiss at first. Then she became bolder wanting to taste the woman's lips so she licked the bottom one requesting entry and was granted access. They both moaned as the first touch of tongues caused electricity to flow through their bodies. When air was required JJ went to the side of Emily's neck and started kissing and sucking gently.

"Wait..." She tried to say but JJ was intent on continuing. "God Jay..." was breathed out. But when a hand went to the front and grasped a breast Emily caught her hands and sat them up, "Hold it," was said in a pant.

JJ leaned her head against Emily's disappointingly panting, "Why?"

"Not until this is over... then if you still feel the same way we will talk."

"I want to more than talk Emily Prentiss."

"That has been duly noted." She said smiling and winking at the woman. "Now we have to get dressed and meet the team in the lobby in less than forty-five minutes."

JJ turned in a panic and looked at the clock. "My alarm didn't go off."

"It did but I shut it off before it woke you." JJ looked at her like "Why?"

"I wanted you to rest as long as you could. Today has the potential of being dark and you will need your strength." She said answering the look.

"Emily what are we walking into?" She asked as a cold shiver went down her spine.

"Hell...is the closest thing I can describe it as." She said and looked down at her hands.

"You know who we are looking for don't you?"

"Yes...and she is Satan herself in my opinion." Emily said not lifting her head up.

"We are looking for a woman?"

"Yes..."

"A woman did all those things to that girl?"

"Had them done." She said as she finally looked up into JJ's eyes.

"That's twisted."

"Honey you haven't seen twisted yet and I hope you do not have to but I'm afraid that will be impossible. I just hope you will still at least be my friend after all this is over."

"Emily..." She started when lips caught hers in a searing kiss causing her mind to go blank. They broke apart "Go take a quick shower so I can too before we are late." She said standing them both up out of bed and turned her towards the shower. "I'm going but it's going to be a cold one after that kiss." She said looking over her shoulder and smiling at a grinning Emily.

JJ was in the process of putting her boots on when her phone rang. "Hey Pen..."

"So, did you two enjoy your private room."

"I knew that was your doing." JJ said rolling her eyes.

"Of course, it was...I'm a great wing man. Now is there any news to tell your wing man?"

"You are bad Penelope Garcia."

"So, I've been told but enough about me spill. I can tell by your voice there are details your dying to tell me."

"I have to be quick she is in the shower."

"Bet your drooling over that."

"Behave or I'll stop talking."

"God, you are hanging around her way too much Missy but go on."

"After we talked yesterday I wrote her a note and put it in her coat before we left the conference room."

"That's what you were doing...you know Reid almost saw you but I blocked his path before he had a chance to make it over to you."

"I was watching Emily making sure she didn't catch me. I never checked to see if there was anyone else watching. Thanks for having my back."

"Any time dumpling...I take it she found it."

"Yes...but she became a stone wall after throwing up and falling asleep on my chest then kissing me in her dream."

"Wait what... she kissed you?"

"Yeah... but she was asleep and I have to go the water stopped."

"Crap... always at the good part. Okay but I expect a phone call soon."

"Love you too...bye." She said hanging up just in time for Emily to walk in the room.

"Was that Hotch?" she said looking at her strangely.

"No Pen being Pen."

"Oh..." She said as she smiled, "I was wondering why you were telling Hotch you loved him."

"God no..." JJ said rolling her eyes and grinning. "You ready to go catch this bitch?"

"I've been waiting for this day for over twenty years." Emily said fastening her gun to her belt and securing an arm around JJ's waist and pulling her into a tight embrace. "No matter what happens today I do not want this to go unspoken..." she pulled back a fraction to look into blue eyes, "...I love you Jennifer. I think I have from the first moment I saw you in Hotch's office." JJ started to answer back but Emily put her finger to her lips... "Wait till afterwards so I know you still feel it." She said and kissed her. They broke apart with Emily opening the door for her as they left the safety and security of the room to face the darkness waiting their day.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading.**


	12. Chapter 13

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

They all walked into the conference room grabbing cups of coffee, all of them but Emily. No one notice her taking her gun, phone, and credentials and stuffing them into the pocket of her wool coat. She slid up to the desk and wrote something in her notebook waiting for the others to settle down to the table and get started. Her face and nerves now were pure cold darkness for she was waiting to see the one person who had stolen all of her emotions years ago. At least that is what she had thought until she had taken one look into warm blue eyes one November day.

She knew it was just a matter of time before evil came to claim her body again but this time she had a new weapon. She had glimpsed the love she could have in those same blue eyes this morning. "Hell couldn't stand against that kind of love and win." She thought as she realized there was still a hidden box of love left in her and Jennifer Jareau had that emotion in her hands to where it couldn't be taken. She smiled thinking about that.

"Hey there... what are you think so hard on?" JJ asked as she sat down handing Emily a cup of coffee. She gasped when Emily looked up at her. The coldness caused a shiver of fear to run up her spine and then branch out into a heat of anger for the one who had planted such coldness in the beautiful woman before her. She never got an answer from the woman because there was a voice that broke the silence.

"Agent Prentiss there is someone in the lobby insistent on seeing you about this case." A young man called into the room. Emily patted JJ's shoulder and smiled and walked out leaving her coat and notebook knowing Satan waited for no one. Yet the team waited for her to return knowing the information she had was what was needed to solve the case. While waiting JJ slipped into Emily's chair and flipped the notebook open and before her eyes was written:

 _Arrogance_

 _You rattled the grave_

 _and have shaken the bones,_

 _The greed in your eyes_

 _couldn't leave well enough alone._

 _The dead lay there silent,_

 _begging for peace._

 _Yet for your enjoyment_

 _torture is all you release._

 _In life, the souls_

 _were mild and innocent,_

 _now in spirit the bones_

 _will not be complacent._

 _What an arrogant fool,_

 _rolling the dice, you dare._

 _Thinking life and fate_

 _owe you its share._

 _Refusing to hear the laughter_

 _of death at your door,_

 _you try to rattle another grave_

 _but fall to the floor._

 _At your death a feast is called,_

 _karma the only invited guest._

 _Now released memories_

 _can walk home to the grave and rest._

 _Emily Prentiss_

 _June 1,1984_

JJ gasped and looked up in a panic. "What is it JJ." Hotch asked as he saw the horror that flooded the woman's face. "I'm not sure yet but I need to find Emily." She said as she ran to the lobby. Hotch and Morgan followed her but the brunette was nowhere to be found.

"Excuse me..." JJ caught the arm of the young police officer who had come and gotten Emily, "Where is Agent Prentiss?" She asked in an authoritative voice. He looked over by the door, "She was just there a few moments ago with that woman who wanted to see her. They ran outside looking in all directions but there was no sign of either one of them.

JJ's heart fell into her stomach but she had to put on a media liaison face or the team would read her love for Emily like an open book. She pulled her phone out, "Queen of all knowledge at your service dumpling."

"Pen... I need you to get a read of where I am and scan the traffic cameras... Emily has been abducted!"

"Oh no...JJ."

"Don't Pen I'm barley keeping my feelings hid from the others. Call Morgan with the results because I might lose it if it's bad."

"I got you lamb chop...back in a jiffy."

"JJ..." Hotch called after her. She turned towards him, "I called Pen...she is already pulling up traffic feeds as we speak. Now we need the tapes from the lobby."

"Morgan is already on it. Let's get back into the conference room and sort this out and find her."

She walked into the room and slid into Emily's chair without paying attention that she was doing it. She just needed to be near something belonging to the woman. "Why did the poem cause you to think something was wrong just now?" Reid asked JJ as the team focused on her.

"I've seen it before when we had a hard case..." She said as she looked at it again and noticed it was different this time. Emily had signed it and put a date to it...June 1, 1984. That had to be a clue. She never does anything that doesn't mean something. Then she noticed that the page before the poem had been torn out leaving an edge over the top. Emily was always neat with everything. A thought hit her and she started feeling the woman's coat pockets... "Hotch!" She yelled getting his attention. She pulled out Emily's gun, cell phone and credentials and laid them on the table.

"What the hell is going on?" Morgan asked disbelievingly.

"I believe Emily wants us to continue our investigation but doesn't want us involved because it's going to get messy and could hurt us."

"What are we looking at?" Gideon finally asked what everyone was wondering.

"I'm not sure. JJ is there anything in that poem that maybe a clue for us?"

"If it is a clue I can't decipher it... but she did leave a date on this one that wasn't on the other one I saw."

"Okay we will start there. Call Garcia and have her dig into Emily's life around that time line. The rest of us will profile this case like any other until we get more clues as to what is going on." He said taking Emily's things and putting them into his briefcase.

JJ put Emily's coat on and took her phone and headed out the backdoor needing some air. She called Pen back with the information on the poem.

"Are you okay JJ?"

"I'm..." She held her breath as she felt the paper she thought would be there. She took it out and unfolded it quickly.

 _Trust me Jennifer... they will tear everything up but look under the vanity of the sink of our room you will find what you need to save the girls...I'll distract Satan._

"Oh God Em… No!"

"JJ...What is it?" The woman asked nervously.

"She's gone after Satan by herself. She knew the woman would come for her. We got to find her!"

"JJ...whose Satan?" Pen asked confused.

"I don't know Pen but it's who ever had her throwing up. Listen Pen you can't tell anyone what I just said yet. She trusts me and wants us to save the girls so that is what we are going to do but by God I will not lose her to anyone. Not now that I know she loves me too."

"She loves you?"

"Yes...Pen she loves me and I can't lose her."

"I'm right there with you...my babies are running as hard as they can buttercup."

"I know Pen, I got to go in and let Hotch know she left a clue without telling him everything."

"Good luck with that one in a room full of profilers."

"Tell me about it." She said rolling her eyes.

"JJ...Take care this sounds very dangerous."

"I will Pen...I will." She said hanging up and going back to the team.

"Hotch... Emily left us a clue." She said as they all looked up at her.

* * *

 **I know you hate cliff hangers but I will post again within the next twenty-four... :)**


	13. Chapter 14

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Morgan and JJ had cleared the hallway of hotel personnel and entered Emily and her room with weapons drawn. They found the room had been totally ransacked just as Emily had predicted it would be but nothing had been taken that JJ could tell by glancing around the room. "Clear," She heard Morgan say as he swept the bathroom and closet area with JJ covering his flank. Morgan came towards her, "It's all yours." He said motioning to the bathroom.

"Thanks," she said as she ran in and looked up under the vanity and didn't see anything. "Damn!"

Morgan came in, "What is it?"

"It's not here..." Then she had a thought, "Morgan pull the Kleenex box out of the holder." He did and she saw it. "There you are." She said as she reached up and pulled Emily's journal from the top of the box holder that no one would have seen unless they were underneath the vanity like she was. "God...you are one smart lady."

"What is it JJ?"

"Emily's journal... she hid it on the roof of the Kleenex box holder. You wouldn't have seen it unless you knew to look there."

"How did you know?"

"She wrote it was under the vanity and I was hoping it was there."

"Let me see it." He said trying to take it from her as she was standing up.

"No..." She said pulling the book into her chest.

"JJ..." He said looking at her like she was crazy.

"No Morgan... I will read what she has marked only. We are not going to dig around in her personal thoughts and emotions."

"JJ, she gave us this as a clue… she meant for us to read it." He said trying once again to take the book.

"No! Do not make me pull my gun." He looked at her and knew she was serious even though her tone tried to pull off teasing. He started backing up away from her with his hands in the air in surrender. "I'll call Hotch and let him know we have it while you read what needs to be read." He said knowing better than to upset a protective bear.

She looked at the pages that were marked with the note she had written and put in Emily's coat. Smiling she placed it in her pocket knowing she might have to eventually surrender the journal and didn't want anyone reading it. She knew how Emily wrote and knew the men would never understand her codes. She had only begun to understand the woman's train of thought lately herself. It seemed the journal was a new one that only had a few pages written in it. On the first page was a poem that was dated back to the case they were on just a week ago involving children being molested.

 _Pain_

 _I see their faces while others stare at mine..._

 _the young eyes looking up void of spirits that have left because of evil's hand._

 _They now look up knowing I know the way_

 _even though the eyes watching me wonder why I'm blind_

 _and have no feelings to put on display._

 _XXX_

 _What words bring back innocence?_

 _What touch replaces memories of betrayed trust?_

 _What replaces the scars of maliciousness?_

 _Will life be filled with penitence or deliverance?_

 _XXX_

 _I see their faces while others look at mine..._

 _the young eyes looking up void of spirits because of evil's plan_

 _and all I can offer is the hope of time_

 _but know justice only answers the one having the most dimes._

JJ felt the shiver run through her body. These were the words of deep sighs and glances out the window from Emily. She turned the page and saw what looked like a blue print draft of a room that had a secret passage way to another room showing on the diagram. She turned the next page and saw in bold letters the title of the next poem:

 _ **The Promise of a Rose**_

 _I received love from butterfly wings..._

 _forgive me for having to suspend long awaited dreams._

 _Please..._

 _See sometimes there isn't enough words..._

 _to save the world from human swords._

 _XXX_

 _Evil waits on no one..._

 _It's only goal is to beat their own setting sun._

 _Know..._

 _It only lives for treasures that turn to dust..._

 _death is the only fulfillment for its lust._

 _xxx_

 _Love will always be the winner..._

 _for it's the only antidote against hate's poisoned dinner._

 _This..._

 _Is why death can be found recomposed..._

 _from the promise of a rose._

"Dear God!"

"What is JJ?" Morgan looked up at her.

"We need to get back to Hotch and I need to call Pen on the way. But first I have too..."

"What are you doing?" He said interrupting her from picking up her and Emily's clothes. "We need to go." she said in a huff.

"JJ... that's evidence… leave it alone."

"Morgan, you and I both know that there aren't going to be any finger prints and I really do not want someone coming in here and photographing my underwear." She said rolling her eyes at the man.

"Alright miss thang do your stuff but you are the one going to explain it all to Hotch."

"Fine let's go." She said as she had already gotten everything in their bags packed.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading... going to Library today hopefully... I know these are cliff hangers but at this point it's leave you on the edge and post quicker or wait a few days because I am composing things I have to create or research a bit. The two poems in this chapter are total new.**

 **As my friendly muse outed me in a review the other poems in this story are from my book. It was almost like being outed again to my family. (Almost...not as painful...thankfully)**


	14. Chapter 15

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Morgan was breaking speed records in getting back to the precinct as JJ called Pen and told her to conference the guys in on the call. "Okay JJ you have everyone." Pen said with her fingers over the key board ready to fly with whatever was needed.

"Thanks Pen... Have you found out anything on Emily concerning June 1, 1984?"

"Not really...wait! What the freak?"

"What is it Garcia?" Hotch asked concernedly.

"I started looking at secret service logs since they have to document things on diplomats where about and stuff. Emily was in England with her mother at that time. The logs said she was enrolled at a girl's school for the summer session. Which I started hacking the photos of her at this school to tease her when you all get back from this god forsaken trip."

"Garcia..." Hotch said frustrated.

"Yeah...yeah...anyway the pictures that have come up of her are of a brunette child but she has blue eyes. And are princess doesn't have blue eyes so that's not Emily."

"Garcia where is Ambassador Prentiss now?" He asked as they heard key strokes flying a mile a minute.

"She is here in D.C. and before you ask..." They heard a phone ringing. "Hello..."

"Ambassador Prentiss it's SSA Hotchner from the B.A.U."

"Yes Aaron, I remember you..."

"Yes ma'am, you are on speaker phone with me and my team." He said before the woman could say anything else.

"Okay..." She said hesitantly, "What can I do for you Agent Hotchner?"

"Has Emily contacted you today?" He opened with not really knowing how to enter questioning his former employer about family history.

"No, she hasn't. What is going on Aaron?"

"Ambassador I hate to inform you that she is missing."

"She isn't there with you?"

"She was but she left this morning with someone we fear may do her harm and we need your help."

"Dear lord... I told her to become a diplomat. Lord that girl."

"Ambassador..."

"Yes...yes sorry. How can I help?"

"What significance is June 1, 1984?"

"Let me see...1984 we were in England so I could be close to France in case anything started with them testing their first nuclear weapon. Then...Oh yeah I went to India in June because of the attack on the Sikh's holiest and was there for two months then I returned to England and was given an assignment in Iraq because of the war between them and Iran."

JJ hit the car door with her fist hard to keep from yelling, "What the hell about your daughter?" Morgan looked at her like "What's up?" She just turned her head and looked out the window as they continued to listen to the Ambassador go on about what she did.

"That's all I remember."

"Yes ma'am, that's good but did Emily travel with you?" He asked trying to jog her memory about her daughter.

"No, she went to classes at a school a friend recommended. She said that it wasn't good for a young girl to go to a war area so I left her in England but I took her with me to Iraq because it was a six-month assignment but we got stationed in Italy six months later when it was deemed unsafe for us there."

JJ bit the inside of cheek. She couldn't believe what this woman was saying. She just left Emily in England on the advice of a friend.

"It's odd now that I think about it..."

"Odd how Ambassador?" Hotch asked hoping she remembered something.

"I just saw Eleanor Bradley a few months back in London and she was inquiring about Emily. It is a small world, isn't it?"

"Yes ma'am, it is."

"You will keep me posted on Emily won't you Aaron?"

"Yes ma'am... we will have her call you as soon as we can."

"Very well good day." She said as they all heard the click of the phone. Then they heard the clicking of keys as Garcia started running the name of the woman inquiring about Emily. JJ and Morgan had made it into the precinct as Hotch started, "Garcia..."

"Already on it Hotch give my babies a moment. Oh crap..."

"What is it baby girl?"

"Eleanor Bradley is part owner of the Buckingham School for girls which is where Emily was supposed to be going and up until three months ago lived in England but decided to come back to the city where she was born in. Three guesses where that is?"

"Dallas" They all said.

"Bingo..."

"What else can you see?" Gideon asked wanting to know what they were facing.

"Give me a few and I'll send the low down on Lady Bitch to your phones."

"Garcia... we do not know if she is involved yet." Hotch reprimanded her for the name.

"You are right sir but my gut is twitching and that usually means evil."

"Just get the information...please." He said but had to agree with the colorful woman this time because his gut was twisting into knots as well.

No one noticed JJ closing her eyes and sending up a silent prayer. "Hang on honey... I promise I will not just leave you anywhere. The first thing I'm going to tell you is I love you. I love you Emily." She was thinking and sending it out with whispered breaths.

"JJ are you listening?"

"What?"

"I asked if you figured out anything from Emily's journal?" Hotch asked in a firm voice.

"She wrote everything in the riddles of a poem but there is a diagram of a room in there. Here..." She said handing the journal to Reid, "...maybe you can crack her code." Morgan looked at her like she had totally lost it. "You practically threatened bodily harm to me if I read it and now you are just handing it over to Reid?"

"That was before I read it Derek. I just didn't want Emily's personal thoughts being thrown out in front of everyone. No one likes to be profiled anyway it's a new journal and the only things in it are two poems and the diagram." She said rolling her eyes at him.

"Okay I'll give you that but..."

She held up a hand stopping his speech, "I have to go to the bathroom." She said getting up and leaving. If truth be told she needed some air and walked out the back entrance. She started to take her phone out when a hand went across her mouth and she was picked up and put into a white van that took off at top speed. She was fighting the strong arms holding her trying to get away.

"Ms. Jareau...settle down you are safe." A woman said trying to calm her down.

"Bloody hell... I told you we should have approached her earlier we do not have time to fight. We have to get to Emily." JJ stopped fighting when she heard the last statement.

The young man that had her asked, "Are you going to behave if I left you go?" She shook her head yes and he slowly started to ease his grip on her. When he took his hand from off her mouth she asked, "Who are you people?"

"We my dear are old friends of Emily's and are here to help with your situation."

"But how and where did you come from and why did you snatch me off the street?" She asked giving the bulky man a cross look.

"She does have sass. Emily said she would."

"You've talked to Emily. Where is she?" She said turning towards the woman.

"We spoke to her yesterday and she is in a whole heap of trouble as you would say here."

She looked at the man knowing he had to be from England or somewhere British speaking." She knew that your team was in over their heads and called us. She said you were the one we would need to convince your boss to let us handle Elanor Bradley while they go and save the women from her brother David." JJ looked at him puzzled. "We really are running out of time. I figure they have till sundown before he kills them."

The light bulb went off in JJ's head, "The poem..."

"What about it?" The man asked her.

Emily wrote... _Evil waits on no one...It's only goal is to beat their own setting sun. Know... It only lives for treasures that turn to dust... death is the only fulfillment for its lust._

"That's our time frame boys and girls we have exactly till 5:25 pm before the women die."

"What about Emily?" JJ asked worriedly.

"What was the next line?"

"She wrote... _Love will always be the winner...for it's the only antidote against hate's poisoned dinner. This... Is why death can be found recomposed... from the promise of a rose._

"You were right Tsia the woman is one sick gobshite."

"What is it?" JJ asked wondering who the hell these people were. "We know where Emily is and we are going to try and get her back but now you need to talk to your boss." The man said as he handed her a cell phone that was ringing.

 **No shooting the writer... that's all I have to say.**


	15. Chapter 16

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

The team were at a loss as to what was going on. Emily went with the possible suspect willingly and now JJ had been snatched from the back-parking lot of the Dallas precinct. "Okay where are we on information Garcia?"

"Sir... Eleanor Bradley has two brothers... They are from an old family which made it big in oil and they have a prestigious family line with roots going back to England. Daniel is three years older than Eleanor and David is seven years younger. Daniel is the politician whose daughter was taken last by our unsub. He has always lived in Dallas and served in politics unlike Eleanor who was sent to study in England until her mother died giving birth to David. Her father brought her home to help raise her baby brother. The two have always been close. She raised him like her own even taking him to the family home in England when he was ten so he could study hard for Oxford...which he never got into."

"I feel a mommy dearest story coming." Gideon said sarcastically.

"I have searched but there is nothing on these two except all the charity work they do. It seems that's all they do but I will keep digging."

"Thanks Garcia...keep us informed on what you find out... and Garcia..."

"Yes sir?"

"We will get them back."

"Yes sir...I hope so." She said disconnecting the line.

Hotch looked around the conference room wondering what hornets' nest the team had landed in. Reid and Morgan were looking at footage of JJ being snatched and Gideon started to ask him something when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number but answered it anyway, "Agent Hotchner..."

"Hotch...it's me JJ."

"JJ where are you and are you okay?" He asked as all the men looked up in hope.

"I'm fine Hotch..."

"Let me put you on speaker phone."

"No!" She yelled causing him to stop and punch the button taking her off of speaker.

"What is it JJ?"

"Listen there isn't much time. You and the rest of the team have to save the women. They are in danger and may only have a couple hours left to live. Eleanor has a brother David who is a sadistic psychopath."

"We know but how do you know this?"

"Hotch please just trust me..." She saw the tablet held up for her to read to him, "Strauss is going to be calling you in a few moments with warrants to search Eleanor Bradley's house. That is what I am being told to tell you. The team should go and be the only ones at the search. There shouldn't be any attention drawn to your actions or there will be horrible repercussions for us. The first part of the second poem in Emily's journal and the diagram will show you how to find them. We are going after Emily as I speak."

"JJ who are you with?" He asked worrying about his agent.

"I really do not know who they are but they have deciphered Emily's writings in moments. They also seem to know where she is and..." She lowered her voice, "I think they are special op's or something."

"Be careful..." He said concernedly.

"I will... now go and save the women. That's why Emily went with that woman in the first place so they could be saved."

"I know." He said before he heard the phone go silent.

"What's going on Hotch?" Gideon asked but never got an answer because his phone rang again. It was Strauss calling with the warrants for the team to search the Bradley's house like JJ said it would be.

 **XXXXX**

"Alone at last my treasure." The voice said in the woman's ear from behind her. She pulled Emily's hair back hard knowing the woman wouldn't flinch or even make a sound. "I taught you so well. You were going to be my prize pupil if your mother hadn't returned and called for you. But you are mine now aren't you like you always should have been."

Emily stood focused on a book on the shelf. Her body was there but her mind had drifted to flash backs of moments with JJ. She was so glad that memories worked both ways. They were the cause of many a sleepless night but in the moments of torture they were an oasis for the soul to hide in from the pain and horror of fear. She had been in this very moment twenty-two years ago in England paralyzed with fear. She didn't have an oasis to hide in at fourteen but she found anger was her cliff of safety vowing revenge on evil but "of course that is the only defense the young have isn't it. "She thought as the voice came through again.

"Now sit down..." She said pushing a chair hard against the back of Emily's legs basically throwing the woman off balance till she fell into the chair. Then grabbing Emily's hands, she tied them behind her to the chair. No words were said by the bound woman the only sound was the humming laughter of the woman tying her up.

 **XXXXX**

The team got to Eleanor's house with Reid teaming up with Hotch on the front door and Gideon and Morgan hitting the back. They quickly swept the house finding no one there. They had begun to wonder if this was all a wild goose chase until Reid called to them from the study. "Guys look at the family crest it has two swords." He said pointing to the crest on the far wall.

"Yeah..." Gideon said looking at him.

"The first part of Emily's poem talked about human swords. There has to be a room behind that wall like the diagram in her journal." He said but they never got to look for it because the book case started to move and they quickly moved in to positions to cover who ever came from behind it. "David Bradley...F.B. I hold it right there." Hotch yelled as the men had guns pointed at him. He threw the box in his hand at Hotch and started to make a dash for the door when he was shot down.

They went into the room and found the women stripped of clothes chained to boards and gaged. "Shhh... it's going to be okay," they said covering the women with their coats. After getting them freed and walking them out to the study they were met by a team of four people they never had met. "Agent Hotchner ..." a man came over and asked to speak to him alone. Hotch looked back at his team frowning more than he normally would have. He wasn't happy about whatever the man was saying but shook his head in understanding.

He came back to the men and said, "We have a plane to catch."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Morgan asked angrily. "We have reports and two team members to find."

"Untouchables..." Gideon said giving a look of understanding to Hotch.

"Yes..."

"Win some lose some." He said patting Morgan on the back. "Let's go."

"Hotch..." Morgan started to say something else until he saw there was no give in the man's face.

"Let's get back to the precinct and hope JJ and Emily are there." He said as they left everything for the mystery people to clean up.

* * *

 **I'll try another update tonight... I will give a semi warning on the next chapter... it will be dark as most of you have probably figured out but promise the story will not end dark... sometimes you have to go through the dark to appreciate the light.**


	16. Chapter 17

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Emily felt like her head was a hundred pounds by itself. Her arms had shooting pains going from her shoulders to her finger tips and her body was cold causing aches in places that had long forgotten what circulation felt like. She tried to lift her head to focus on anything but doing so seemed as daunting as lifting her eye lids to the bright light of the room. She breathed in a deep breath and focused all her strength and managed to do both.

She found herself completely nude with her arms in shackles that were connected to chains that at some point she knew would keep her securely standing wither she wanted to or not. She thought it was a possibility that Eleanor had started using drugs to control her subjects after seeing the pin prick behind the girl's ear at the morgue but she didn't expect the amount that was used on her. She hated feeling out of control and she needed to look around for a clock. She needed to know if the sun had set and if the other two women were here or not. She needed information badly to put one or the other of her plans into motion if she could but being drugged could dampen those plans altogether. She was hoping that back up was on the way or she was in a hell of a mess.

"You are awake my treasure... I'm so glad. I was afraid I gave you a touch too much. I guess we can get started now even though David is late with our party favors."

"Good the team must have gotten to them." She thought, "You aren't into women Eleanor and David isn't here to excite you and get your juices going." Emily said through clenched teeth with an evil smile. A sound of a back hand hitting across Emily's face reverberated throughout the room. She had known it would get that response but it had been worth it just to say something in her own defense.

"I'm not into women but you are different Emily... you know that." She said coming back again from the other direction so the woman had matching red marks across her face. Emily pulled all the air she could muster into her lungs to keep upright. "You and your innocent belief that your mother would believe your word over mine. It still makes me laugh.

Tell me Emily is protecting the innocent why you joined the F.B.I? Is it what gets you off? That can't be what does it because you didn't protect Maria and you are not protecting yourself now. I guess you are just a failure on your own without me. Now I believe you owe me my final penitence that I was robbed of years ago maybe it will get us both off."

Emily got a glimpse of a clock in the corner of the room that said 5 pm. "Damn" she thought knowing she would have to endure at least another hour just to make sure the girls were okay. She swallowed the bile back down, "I owe you nothing but a taste of your own torture." She said knowing that was enough to set the woman off into her sick games but she had to prolong the sickness if there was going to be any chance of the women surviving. "I won't let them down like I did Maria." She thought to herself.

"Such lofty words from someone chained to the walls." She said as she pulled Emily up to a standing position. "I couldn't totally break you then because I had to make sure not to leave a mark or they would believe you." She said coming and kissing her shoulder after making sure Emily was securely locked in place. She rubbed Emily's back looking at her skin like it was dinner and she was a starved cast away. Emily steadied her breathing, just having the woman touch her was more painful and torturous than being hit by any unsub's fist.

"So beautiful, I just do not know where to start." She said as Emily focused on the book on the shelf that led her soul to the place of oblivious. There nothing happened to her and the body chained to the wall was just a body.

 **XXXXX**

JJ was in a panic on the inside but on the outside, she was putting on the media liaison face very well. "How much longer?" She asked the three people she didn't know that seemed to hold the fate of Emily in their hands.

"My dear we have to be very careful because Eleanor is a devious and malicious woman. One wrong move and our dear Emily will suffer a dreadful fate." She looked at the man and showed the first sign of fear she had all day. He patted her arm, "Don't worry she knows how to survive this evil woman's games. She's done it before remember." For some reason that wasn't comforting to her especially after she had been shown the file and picture of where Emily was possibly held for two months when she was fourteen.

The warrants had come down after a raid on the Bradley's home in London which was just a mile from the Buckingham School for Girls. The only reason the two hadn't been suspects in the deaths of several girls over the years in London was because they came home and took girls from the area. They were illegal immigrants' daughters and were promised education for domestic services. They were taken to London enrolled on the books of the school but they never made it to the school.

"Where are we going?" She asked needing information to calm her nerves since it was getting close to the sun setting.

"There is a family crypt that was destroyed in a tornado about fifteen years ago. We believe David rebuilt it and added a few additions for his fun on his trips home to get more girls for their twisted games."

JJ shivered thinking about what Emily had endured and saw as a teenager. She remembered asking Emily from the bathroom of the Hankel farm how come none of the things they saw got to her and then Hotch joining in telling her she didn't even blink at it. "She didn't blink because she had already looked into the face of the abyss and it stole her emotions." She thought as they came to a stop and in the distance, she could see some lonesome trees and a building with roses bushes around it and some old stone crosses that she figured were tomb stones."

"Yep she is one sick gobshite."

"What the hell is a gobshite?" JJ asked as her nerves were just about shot.

"A sick despicable person." He said smiling at her.

"Emily calls her Satan." JJ said looking at the crypt.

"Well she does have a way of narrowing down to the point with words now doesn't she." He said as he started getting ready to go and rescue her. JJ looked at her watch and it said 5:30 pm. She looked up and saw the woman in the van checking her supplies. She handed the bulky man a syringe of something and then handed the British guy another syringe filled with something. She pointed at the bulky guy, " You have Emily and Clyde you have the honor of Lady Eleanor."

"With pleasure my dear...with pleasure."

"JJ, you are with me."

"What do you need me to do?" She asked willing to do anything.

"You are going to be the distraction."

"So, I'm the bait."

"Basically..." The one she called Clyde said.

"Okay let's do it." She said not caring. She just wanted to get to Emily as fast as she could.

"Listen..." The woman said getting JJ's attention. "I will have your back the whole time. Do not show any fear... Eleanor thrives on it. Prepare yourself for the fact that Emily maybe hurt but you will have to pull your emotions down deep and push past it. Do you understand?"

"Yes"

"Good." She said as she picked up a back pack and put it on her shoulder as they got out of the van.

JJ looked at the crypt in the distance, "Hang on Emily we are coming." She said as the darkness of night started covering their approach.

* * *

 **I know another cliff but the story is only about two or three more chapters from being done... hang on.**


	17. Chapter 18

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ and the woman were to enter the crypt from the front doors while the two men took off around back looking for what they believed to be a tunnel entrance. The women waited for confirmation that the men had found the entrance before entering themselves. JJ felt like her skin was crawling and yet she wasn't afraid to go in. It was a strange moment she thought for it was like the universe orchestrating fate's decisions of how everything would work out. "We found it… give us two minutes before you go in." Was heard through the ear wig knocking her out of her pondering.

"You ready?" The woman whispered as JJ shook her head and took in a deep breath. "Let's go." She said as she opened the wood door trying to make as little noise as possible but the rusted hinges were making a silent entry almost impossible. It was pitch black inside with the only light for the moment coming from the moonlight shining in the entry way. JJ started to turn her flash light on when a hand softly pushed it down before it could shine in the crypt. She looked up puzzled, "Just let your eyes focus on the dark...no lights." Was whispered into her ear... JJ shook her head in understanding.

It took a few seconds but her eyes adjusted and she realized she didn't need the extra light for the room. A hand was placed on her shoulder causing her to look to her left and she saw the bare glimmer of light coming from the bottom of the wall that looked solid. They started to walk towards it when they heard a tormented scream of pain then an evil laugh which froze them for a moment. Then they heard, "That's it my treasure scream all you want there is no one here to save you." JJ almost threw up but remembered what the woman had told her about pushing her emotions down. They found the switch that opened the door to where the noise was coming from. "Now that I got you back let's continue." They heard sounds which sounded like slaps, "Don't you pass out on me. This is my party unlike the ones your mother use to throw you are my main guest. She was too interested in the young talk dark and handsome studs around her to notice she had you, wasn't she?"

"I know the sins of my mother you bitch... she may be a cougar of sorts but everyone she ever slept with I guarantee you was over 21." Was spat out in between pants and cracked sounds of pain being swallowed back. A blood curling laugh was let out filling the room with echoes. JJ and the woman took that as a cue to move in undetected as they crouched behind a table. From their view point they could see a chain above them stretched out. JJ had to close her eyes for a moment and will her fear mixed with anger back down before she jeopardized Emily's life. "You would be surprised what and who your mother would sleep with."

"...yeah...at least my mother doesn't get her rocks off by screwing her brother after she watches him rape and torture young girls." A round of slaps echoed in the air to the point the woman caught JJ's arm to keep her still. "Maybe not... but I bet you can't have sex and not see us with you either can you now Emily. Does it hinder or excite you my treasure?" The chain slumped as laughter filled the room. The woman pointed around the table for JJ to pick her moment to distract Eleanor because she saw the men in place on the other side.

"I think we have made some head way. I told you before you are different. You almost made me forget David there for a moment. You belong to me Emily..." She said lifting up the woman's chin as she spat the foul words in her face. "I believe your mistaken... Emily is mine and get your filthy hands off of her!" JJ yelled as she pointed her gun at the woman wanting to shoot her dead as she got a full view of what had been done to Emily. "Where did you come fr..." a question that was never finished as Clyde slipped up behind her putting a rag over the woman's face. She fought for several moments and then fell back into him.

"You went old school and use chloroform didn't you." Came the voice above him. "You have an issue with that Princess Prentiss?" He asked looking at her smiling like it was an everyday event.

"At the moment no..." She barely got the words out as the bulky man started releasing her chains but as he did she started to fall. JJ ran up and caught her as he continued to loosen the chains. "I got you Em." She said as they both went to their knees. Emily from the drugs and exhaustion and JJ from the shock of seeing Emily's back that had cut's and red marks made from some type of whip. She also saw what looked like white crystals caked to some of the dried blood. She looked up and saw on the table a box of salt and knew that the bitch had thrown salt into the wounds she had made in Emily's back making her almost loose it. But she pulled it back in once again for the woman who was in her arms sake.

Clyde pulled out the syringe that the woman had given him in the van. "I hate that she will not get to feel the pain she inflicted on so many. But maybe there will be justice in the afterlife," he said as he parted her fingers and stuck the syringe in and injecting the potassium chloride into her. He then looked at the women, "Do you have her Tsia because Sean and I have to take sleeping beauty here and plant her in the roses?"

"Go but give me your syringe Sean." She said taking it from him. She popped the cap and started towards Emily.

"No..." JJ yelled thinking it was the same thing they injected into Eleanor with.

"JJ it's adrenaline... it will help her fight the drugs in her body."

"It's okay Jennifer... you can trust them..." Emily said as Tsia injected her in the butt, "...ouch. For the most part." She said grumpily.

"This from a woman that just took hours of torturer from a sadistic woman."

"It hurt... and I hope you brought some clothes."

JJ busted out in laughter at the banter. She was to her breaking point holding Emily while the woman acted like it was another day at the office fussing with Morgan.

"Jennifer?" Emily questioned.

"I'm okay..."

"Good... because I need you to help me find her clothes and clean up anything that we have touched and all her blood." Tsia said handing her a bottle of bleach and some towels.

"What about her?" JJ asked as Sean came in and picked Emily up and started out with her. "Where is he going with her?" She said in a panic.

"It's okay JJ. Sean is taking her to the van while we clean. Now we got to get going before the cleaners arrive."

"The who?" She asked as she started wiping everything down.

"Emily will explain."

They finished with in fifteen minutes and got to the van in five. When they had gotten in, JJ saw that Emily had put on jeans and boots but was laying on her stomach topless. "She needs to go to the hospital." JJ said looking at Emily's back. It had been cleaned of the salt and dried blood but some of the cuts were deep and she knew the woman needed stitches.

"That's not necessary JJ." Emily said reaching out to take her hand in hers.

"Yes, it is..." She started to say until Tsia came towards Emily with a needle and surgical thread. "What are you doing and who the hell are you people?"

"It's okay JJ just hold my hand she can do this." Emily said as the woman sprayed her back with a numbing agent and began sewing her back up.

"You are going to need to redress that several times Emily. I have made you a bag and there is more spray in there too. I do not want to give you anything for the pain at this moment because of what Eleanor gave you before. But if it gets to bad I have put some pain killers in the bag as well."

"I understand..." she said nodding her head, "I need my bra and t-shirt."

"That bra is going to sting, it's right on a stitched part of your back." JJ said wincing.

"I don't care just help me."

"Okay," she said as she took it and helped her. "You never answered me Emily. Who are these people?"

"Friends from a past life who I hope you will never see again."

"We love you too Emily." Clyde said smiling, "It's a pleasure to meet you JJ." He said sticking his hand out to shake hers.

She looked at him, "I am thankful to you all but I must admit if we have to meet again like this...I hope it is never too."

"Here... Here" They said in unison.

"Okay where are we going now?" Emily asked looking at Clyde.

"You two dears have a jet to catch with your team. We will let you out at the plane and then we have one to catch ourselves."

"We will be there in five." Came the voice of the driver.

"Thank you again." Emily said to the three friends and waved as her and JJ started walking towards the team jet. They almost stopped and walked the other way when they noticed Deputy Chief Strauss stick her head out the jet to see where they were. Emily turned to JJ "I guess the shit is going to hit the fan early this time."

JJ rolled her eyes, "Yeah...isn't that just great." She said as she wrapped her arm around Emily's waist and held her by the belt trying to keep her upright and walking.

 **Thanks for reading... still more to go... :)**


	18. Chapter 19

**I know the last chapter was dark and this one is starts in that ball park but I promise it will not stay there... please trust me!**

 ***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Strauss went back into the jet as Morgan and Reid came running out of it towards the women. JJ stepped in front of Emily to keep the men from pulling both of them into a bear hug. "Guys... it's good to see you but be very gentle with Em." She said as she pulled both of them into a hug before they got to her. Reid had JJ's coat so she could put it on since she had given Emily back her own.

"Morgan walk beside Em and gentle wrap your arm around her and hold the belt of her coat. That will give her enough stability to get to the jet."

"JJ, she needs a hospital she looks like she's been in a bar fight."

"No... get me to the jet." Emily said through gritted teeth.

"The spray's wearing off, isn't it?" JJ asked worriedly.

"Yes... just get me to my seat and I'll be okay."

"You heard her...lets go." JJ said wrapping her arm around Reid like Morgan had around Emily so that they just looked like friends happy to see each other. They made it on the jet with Reid in front followed by JJ, Emily then Morgan. As they passed Hotch he stood, "Glad you made it Emily." He said giving her a stoic look.

"I've never missed the jet yet." She said trying to lighten the man up but never looked up fully for him to see her face. "You know we will have to talk about your behavior when we get back and the Ambassador is expecting your call."

Emily gave a deep sigh, "Why don't you call her." She said trying to move forward to her seat. He grabbed her wrist causing the woman to groan in pain. "She wants to know you are okay." Emily looked up fully in his face. He let go of her wrist as he stepped back at the bruising he saw on her face. Her lip was busted on the left side and her eye was almost swollen shut. "You have a better relationship with my mother...Hotch... and you obviously have her number so call her and tell her." Emily said and moved past JJ to sit down.

JJ looked at him and stepped forward, "She's in pain Hotch, just give her a moment." She said looking empathetic towards him but was now wondering if Hotch was one of Emily's mother's sleep overs and Em knew it. He didn't say a word but nodded. Strauss was across the aisle and heard the conversation as well and decided that Emily might just be the piece she was missing to get Hotch out of the B.A.U.

They strapped in for takeoff with JJ sitting beside Emily and Morgan and Reid across from her. The jet lifted up and Emily brought her hands up to her face as pain shot through her head. The guys saw the bandages around her wrist and just looked at JJ raising their eyebrows in question. She shook her head like "leave it alone." and leaned over, "Is it your head?" She got a shake of yes in response. "When we level out I'll get you some Advil but I do not think the pain killers are wise with us in the air." She received another shake of the head in agreement as a response.

JJ laid her head back against her chair trying to catch her own breath. This day had been one theatrical event after another and she realized she had hit every emotion that her body could give. Then she realized Emily had went through everything and contempt was the only emotion she still showed to everyone around her. But now she understood why the woman hid behind it. Contempt was the only thing anyone could have after everything she saw today. She knew she had to find a way to get both of them out of it though because life did have joy and they did have each other. She hoped the last part of her thought was still true at least.

The plane leveled out and the fasten your seatbelt sign went off. She unhooked hers and went and got two bottles of water and looked in her purse that was sitting in her seat when she boarded, she loved how the fellows were so thoughtful, and got the medicine for the woman beside her. "Em..." She said trying to get the woman to lower her hands from her face. "Em... here is your Advil." Emily looked at her and took the pills, "Thank you." She said in a low voice as she wrapped her hand around JJ's that was holding the water. "Thank you for everything." She said looking JJ in her eyes with her good one. JJ's eyes filled with tears for those few words spoken said so many unspoken ones to her heart and gave her hope that there was still a "them" possible.

Hotch stood and cleared his throat, "Listen up everyone. I know we have had three brutal cases back to back. The director has cleared all of us including Garcia for a two-week break."

"Wooo hooo!" Was heard as the said Garcia came on the screen.

"Glad you could join us Penelope." He said and gave a smirk.

"Yes sir."

"Now… Chief Strauss is here to handle the debrief so we can start our breaks the moment we land."

"Thank you agent Hotchner." She said standing up so everyone could see and hear her. "This last case as you all know has been a very unusual one that may leave some of you wondering what is going on. Let me just say it is best not too. There are things and situations that have to be handled differently and without records being written and this is one of them. It is in the best interest for all of us to forget that this case ever existed because according to the records it never has. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone shook their heads yes even though some didn't like it very much.

"Good...Miss Garcia."

"Yes ma'am, your deputyship." Garcia said being all nervous answering Strauss with the woman huffing and rolling her eyes at the colorful woman. "Play the news clip that is airing on the Dallas news right now."

"Yes ma'am."

"In breaking news David Bradley was found shot in his home. It is believed it was a beak in gone bad and in another odd coincidence his sister was also found dead of an apparent heart attack in the rose garden of the family cemetery. There is no evidence the two events are related but autopsies have been ordered for both brother and sister. Their only surviving relative Congressman Daniel Bradley was unavailable for comment at this time due to his daughter being found alive with another student. They had been kidnapped earlier this week and were found by an anonymous tip that led local police to the suspected abductor's house. In a shootout with the police two men were shot and killed. The police will not release their names until family notification have taken place."

The screen went back to Garcia as Strauss picked up her conversation, "As you can see all the bases have been covered in the case and this is a closed matter as far as the Bureau is concerned. Now I want to thank you all for the hard work that you give on all cases. I have only one more thing to add. Get some rest you all deserve it." She said as she sat down handing it back over to Hotch.

"Are there any questions?" He asked again giving his team a chance to voice their feelings.

"No questions Hotch... But I want to thank all of you for having my back. I know there is a thousand unanswered questions that can never get answered about this case but the question of my gratitude is not one I want left unanswered. I am grateful for you all and am proud to be on this team and to call you friends." Emily said through the pain. They all smiled at her and let the case end for them on her words.

"Gideon, you up for a game of chess?" Reid asked trying to put some normal back into the air plane ride home and changing the atmosphere. Morgan smiled and put his head phones on as Hotch returned to his paperwork. JJ stood and got a blanket and covered her and Emily with it. The only new thing on the plane was Strauss in the seat at the front of the plane and JJ holding Emily's hand under the blanket.

* * *

 **The case is closed but the story is far from over.**


	19. Chapter 20

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

The jet landed at 2 am in D.C. JJ and Emily were the first off the plane with Morgan bringing their bags behind them. A black sedan with American flags on the hood pulled up beside them. Emily stood still and straighter then looked back at the jet stairs as Hotch came through the door. "See I knew you had her number." She spat out with a glare that said "if I had a gun I would shoot you." At the moment, he was very glad that he still had her gun in his briefcase and JJ's wasn't where she could get to it easily. The car stopped with the driver coming around and opening the back-passenger door. A brunette emerged from the car, "Emily dear come here and let me see you."

"Hello mother." She said but didn't move.

"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss, I know you heard me now come here and let me see you."

"I'm fine mother. I'm sorry that you were worried and if you don't mind I'm going to go home and rest."

"That wasn't a request Emily and I do mind now come here." She said as the team basically stood still while the war of wills was being raged.

"I didn't think it was but I am in no mood to argue mother." Emily said starting to walk away.

The Ambassador frustrated beyond belief at Emily's attitude walked out and slammed the car door stopping Emily again in her tracks. "I am beyond being amused with your independency Emily." She said coming up to her daughter only to have JJ step in between the two. "Ambassador Prentiss do not come any closer. Your daughter has been through enough today. Please...Please be respectful of her wishes."

"And just who do you think you are Miss..."

Emily placed an arm around JJ's waist and pulled her to her side, "She is SSA Jennifer Jareau. She is also one of the ones who saved my life tonight from one of your oldest and dears friends mother." Emily spat out. The Ambassador was close enough now to see Emily's face. "Dear God it was true then..."

"Yes mother, it was true today like it was twenty-two years ago but what does it matter Maria was just a domestic servant like all the others they killed."

"Emily, I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry to mother but I'm hurting and want to rest."

"Emily come home with me please. I have a nurse and doctor waiting to look at you."

"My friends fixed me in the field but thank you."

"Em..." JJ interjected seeing her mother's face so dejected, "You should have a doctor look at you back." Emily looked at her then looked at her mother, " You know I hate you all right now." She said looking up at Hotch again as she said it.

"I know and you can take it out on all of us later but you need medical attention that has no questions attached to it." JJ said giving a "You know what I'm saying is true" look.

Emily leant into JJ, "I'm only doing this for you...you know that, right?"

"I know."

"Alright mother but I'm not staying long." She said as she went to the sedan and got in. The driver took Emily's bag from Morgan and they left.

"Wow...how did you get her to do that?" Reid asked as he caught up to JJ.

"I just pointed out her back need to be looked at without questions of how it got that way."

"Her back?" He asked looking puzzled.

"Yes Spence, she really took a beating and that's all I will say."

"I understand...but if you need to talk to anyone I'm here for you." He said smiling at her.

"I know and thank you." She said as they made it to the SUV's that would take them back to their cars and into their breaks.

 **XXXXX**

(Days later)

JJ walked into the room with two glasses of wine one for her and one for Pen. It was their girls' night out and they weren't for sure if Emily would be there or not.

"So, Lamb chop have you heard from the brooding princess yet?"

"No Pen but Hotch still has her phone and I am not calling the Ambassadors house." She said rolling her eyes.

"I got you there. But I heard you got all butch standing between the warring factions the other night."

"Yeah... I just couldn't let Emily be bullied anymore after everything I heard her go through."

"Jay...it was really bad wasn't it." She said giving a sorry face look.

"It was horrible Pen. I always wondered how she could be so oblivious to everything we saw but Eleanor made everyone almost seem tame. I can only imagine how it was for Emily at fourteen dealing with that."

"Do you think she will have trouble now that she has gone through it again?"

"I hope the fact that both of them are dead will help in that area but I'm sure she will go through something's. So, what are you in the mood for pizza or Chinese?" She asked wanting to change the subject. She had spent three days worrying about Emily going through PTSD's.

"Chinese..."

"Alright then." JJ said as she went to the kitchen for the menu when the doorbell rang.

"I got it." Pen said opening the door to an Emily standing there with a paper bag full, a bottle of wine and her go bag. "Emily... we weren't for sure you were going to make it."

"Who is it Pen?" Came a voice from the kitchen.

"It's your stud muffin." She said grinning at the confused look on Emily's face. "You better get in here and explain or I'm a dead woman I think." She said giggling.

JJ came running, "Emily..." She said as she took the bag of food and bottle of wine and handed them to Pen. "I brought Chinese." She said still looking confused. "That's funny we were just about to order it." She said leaning in and gently hugging the woman. "I missed you."

Emily pulled back, "I take it that Garcia knows about us?"

"She does...please don't be mad Em. I told her I loved you when we were in Georgia. I needed a sounding board when you were in the hospital. She's been good and hasn't told anyone." She said hoping the woman would understand and not be angry. Emily looked at her, "Well if she knows then come here." She said pulling the woman in to her for a kiss."

"You two are so adorable... to cute for teddy bears."

Emily pulled back and mouthed..."to cute for teddy bears...what the..." JJ laughed and shook her head taking Emily's hand and pulling her into the room with them. "We were just about to pick a movie any request?"

"Not really just no horror movies I've had three days of them living with my mother again." She said rolling her eyes.

"I noticed the go bag, you moving in with JJ?" Pen asked teasing Emily.

"No... Mother's driver dropped me off and I thought I would get a cab from here." She said sticking her tongue out at Pen.

"I must admit living with mommy dearest has brought the nasty out in you Em. I like it." Garcia said laughing.

"Behave you two." JJ said in her mother voice. "You are welcome to stay as long as you like. It is girls' night and we usually end up drinking too much anyway so I prepared for the both of you to stay."

"Sorry Lamb chop but my chocolate thunder is picking me up at 10:30 pm for the midnight matinee. So, you two love birds will be chaperone less after that."

"Whatever will we do JJ?" Emily asked with a mocking surprised face.

"I believe we will do whatever we want to with or without a chaperone." She said kissing Emily again."

"You go girls now pass the moo shu pork. All this lovey dovey stuff has worked up my appetite." She said as Emily and JJ laughed at their colorful friend.

Emily had laid down on the couch with JJ in front of her and fell asleep during the movie. A car horn blew and JJ started to get up to walk Pen out but Emily's arm pulled tighter not allowing her to get up. "Something tells me you are sleeping on the couch tonight." Pen said as she smiled and came and kissed both of their heads bye. "I'll lock the door behind me."

"Thanks Pen, I'll call you tomorrow."

"You better." She said as she closed the door. JJ reached above Emily taking the blanket and covered them. She decided a night on the couch in Emily's arms was a great idea.

 **We have at least one maybe two more chapters.**


	20. Chapter 21

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ woke up when a groan came from behind her. It took her a few moments to realize whose arm was wrapped around her waist and that she was on her couch in the living room. Another groan came from behind her and she couldn't tell if it was pain related or nightmare related. "Em..." She said in a normal tone trying not to startle the woman behind her. Another groan and then a frantic sit up knocking JJ to the floor. Emily shook the dreams evil away and noticed JJ sitting on the floor looking up at her. "Jennifer..."

"Yep... it's me." JJ said trying to lighten up what had just happened.

"Dear god...I'm so sorry come here." She said helping the woman back up on the couch. "What time is it and where is Garcia?"

"It's 2 am and she has long since left with her chocolate god."

"I thought that it was thunder."

"Thunder...god who can keep up." She said as they both started laughing. After the laughter broke the ice JJ braved to question, "You want to talk about it?"

"Not really but I know you have questions that need answers that I'm not sure I can give." She said as she winced in pain.

"Your back hasn't totally healed yet has it?"

"It's okay but it itches like the devil sometimes." She said rubbing her back against the cushion of the couch. "Here let me help you with that." She said as she started running her nails over Emily's back. "God...so good." The woman crooned in relief.

"Feels pretty good hum..." JJ said smiling and loving the sounds coming from the woman she was giving pleasure to. "Like heaven...thank you."

"I've been doing some investigating these past few days." Emily looked back at her, "You have...do I dare ask about what."

"A lot of things like the life of spies, the effects of childhood traumas, and how to love a woman if you are a woman." She said as Emily coughed, "You've been a busy girl then."

"I have...and you know why I was researching?" Emily turned and looked at her. "Because I love you Emily Prentiss."

"JJ..."

She noticed she went from Jennifer to JJ in one statement. "I love you Emily." She said and reached out to hug the woman before her but had her arms caught in midair.

"I love you too but it's not fair to you." Emily said looking into blue eyes then hanging her head.

"You are going to have to explain that one to me Emily."

"I'm broken Jennifer." Was whispered as Emily stood up and started towards her bag. JJ caught up to her before she reached it, "You are wounded but wounds heal Emily if they are properly tended."

"Jennifer...you are the first person that I have ever felt a twinge of physical desire for and I not sure I can..."

"You leave, don't you?" JJ said in a rush.

"What?"

"When you have sexual relationships, you leave."

"How?"

"Emily, I was there with you. I heard that bitch and what she said to you. You leave because you are afraid to feel. You think if you feel you might be like her because of desires."

"Don't... please don't!" She said as she went to her knees clutching her arms around her chest. JJ went in front of her and fell to her knees with her and reached up under her chin lifting the woman's face up to hers. "Look at me please..." It took a few moments but Emily looked up, "None of any of this is your fault and I know you know that in your head but the fourteen-year-old girl in your heart doesn't believe it.

Emily... they are dead and you are not them. They messed with your developmental maps and put you in fear. Honey you are nothing like them and wanting and needing to be loved is normal. Wanting and needing to be touched and having a release in a loving and consensual atmosphere is okay and very much normal."

"I've tried...it's never worked." was whispered out.

"Oh honey..." JJ said gathering the crying woman into her arms. "...slowly...we will take it slowly is all and I promise we will get there together... I promise sweetie. You are normal and what we feel for each other is normal."

"I'm so tired Jennifer. The few hours of sleep I got holding you is the most I've slept in a row in weeks." She said into the woman's shoulder. "Come on sweetie let's go to bed and you can hold me there." She said standing up, "Is there medicine you need to take for pain?"

"No... you seem to be all I need right now." She looked up at her as they both smiled. JJ extended her hand to Emily to help her up and hugged her. She then led her to the bed room. She could tell the apprehension was strong in Emily as she gave her a big t-shirt to sleep in. "I'm going to go and change in the bathroom and brush my teeth. I have and extra toothbrush when you are ready." She said smiling at her and left for the bathroom. Emily put the shirt on and took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom where JJ was brushing her hair. She caught the bush on a down stroke and took it away from her and started brushing the woman's hair. "Thank you." She said as she came down with the brush in silky hair. "For what?" JJ asked.

"For loving me...and being there." She said as she wrapped her arms around JJ's waist and pulled her into her chest holding her there feeling the warmth of the body in front of her as the woman melted into the body behind her. "I will always there for you Em." She said reluctantly pulling away, "Now brush your teeth and come to bed and hold me just like that because I really like being held that way."

"Yes ma'am." Emily said smiling at the beautiful woman. She knew that it was going to be a process to redirect Emily's thinking concerning her natural responses towards intimacy. But they had plenty of time and she had plenty of love to make sure it would happen.

* * *

 **I have a special ending to this story. The next chapter maybe it or it could take me two. I realize this has been a darker story and I have always known this theme would be touched on. I just didn't realize the characters were leading to it in this one but everything is for a reason... love always knows perfect timing. :)**


	21. Chapter 22

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ awoke to the screams of "Maria...OH GOD NO Maria!" Then there was a fast movement of one sitting up behind her. She gave it a moment and slowly turned and sat up herself. She could tell Emily was still in the fog of the nightmare so she slowly slid behind her and just wrapped her arms around the woman's waist and laid her left cheek to the woman's back. "Shhh...I got you...you are safe...I got you."

Deep breaths were taken in and then the shaking of the head... clearing the last of the fear away. They sat there for moments just letting the silence of the room to focus healing to the scars left by the netherworld. Emily placed her hands on JJ's and pulled them tighter around her waist. If she could have she would have pulled the woman into her soul. She just needed her to hold all of her to keep her from falling to pieces.

"Maria was my age..." Emily started and JJ held her breath afraid any sound or movement would stop the progression of the woman's words. "...she worked as a domestic for Eleanor and used to come to my mother's dinners on Friday night to basically be her personal attendant. We use to talk at first and she was so happy that she was going to get to go to college and make her mother proud. That only lasted for a month though. The last few times I saw her she had all the signs of abuse and the light that was in her eyes when I first met her had been stolen.

The last night I saw her I begged her to tell me what was the matter that I could help her. She trusted me and told me...of course I told my mother to try and save her but she didn't believe me. She told Eleanor everything and asked her what to do about my wild imagination. The witch had the perfect solution...enroll me in summer classes at her friend's school while my mother went and saved the world in India." JJ tightened her arms around her waist as tears started rolling out of her eyes.

"I made it to the school doors as we passed them on the way to Eleanor's house. I knew I was on my way to the gates of hell with no chance of escape even if I wanted to. They tortured Maria in front of me in ways I still can't bring myself to speak out loud about. Right before they killed her the light returned for just a moment in her eyes as she looked at me like, "It's okay you tried...thank you" and then she went back to the blank stare and died. Those unspoken words haunt and bless me at the same time. That's when I wrote the poem and I told myself at least I tried but I always wonder did I make it worse? I'll never know.

The day she died is also the day I learned how powerful that stare was. I learned how to separate my soul from my body and how to separate feelings from emotions. You asked me once how I looked at the things we see every day and it not get to me...it's because I can stare. I'm tired of living my life in a stare Jennifer but I really do not know how to reattach." She said ending her speech.

JJ waited a few moments to make sure Emily was through speaking, "Em...I love you...I can't replace or erase the memories. I can't even explain the "why's" of what you went through but I can be here and we can try to bring you back to yourself. I'm sure you will always use the stare to protect yourself but you don't have to live in it anymore because I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"You promise?" Was asked after a pause in what was a whisper of a fourteen-year-old frightened girl's voice.

"I promise." She said firmly as a protector and nurturer while she slid around so the woman could see the sincerity in her eyes. Emily leaned forward and caught her lips in a gentle kiss that grew in intensity. JJ allowed her to take the lead showing there was no rush that she was there for her. They broke apart with heads leaning against each other. "Will you hold me?"

JJ's heart nearly jumped out of her chest in gratitude. She knew that she was probably the only one that Emily had ever trusted to ask that from. "I would love too." She said as they nestled back into a warm bed with JJ showering butterfly kisses to the woman's head as she fell off into what she hoped would be a peaceful sleep for the both of them.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading...**


	22. Chapter 23

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Emily awoke to an empty bed but to the smell of bacon and coffee teasing her nose. She smiled and went to the restroom as she rehashed the previous night's events in her head and realized how much she loved the woman downstairs. Looking up she saw a bathrobe on the back of the door and instead of putting her jeans back on took the woman's robe and put it on just so she could have the smell of JJ wrapped around her again. She made it downstairs and into the kitchen without being detected. Seeing JJ standing over a frying pan humming with the radio she decided to walk up and slide her arms around the woman's waist. "Hummm... you are awake I see," was the response given with a smile. "I am." Emily said and kissed the side of her neck.

"You are awake and hungry I see." She said jokingly but it did nothing to stop the assault on her neck from Emily. "You keep this up and I'll have no choice but to surrender to you g woman." Emily pulled away looking at JJ strangely, "Did you just call me a g woman?"

"I did." She said smiling with a smirk.

"You've been hanging around Garcia to long." Emily said as she started to pull her arms away until JJ caught them and twisted around to capture her lips in a good morning kiss. "Humm... okay you can call me g woman but only here in the morning while you are frying bacon and there isn't anyone else here." Emily said in between kisses from JJ but captured her lips fully and took there morning greeting to a more intense level. She pulled back as a shiver went down her spine, "God you make my body..." That was all that was said as she pulled away to go and get a cup of coffee.

JJ gave her a moment to regroup but then came up behind her and laced her arms around Emily's waist, "You make my body shiver and you make me want to be as close to you as I possibly can be. I want to hold, touch, and taste you all in one." Emily leaned back into JJ's chest, "I want that too JJ but I am on over load. I feel things with you that I've only once before have and..." the room went silent except the popping of the bacon frying.

"I'm going to take up the bacon and we are going to talk a bit." She said kissing the woman's neck and then looking around to see if it was going to be alright. "Will that be okay?" Emily shook her head yes as she got herself a cup of coffee and went into the living room and sat on the couch. JJ followed her after refilling her own coffee and turning the stove off. "Breakfast can wait," she thought to herself.

She came and sat beside Emily and took a few sips of coffee, "Em... I am not sitting here to judge you nor do I think that I can say anything that you haven't read, studied, or experienced before. I am sitting her as someone who loves you and wants to be able to give you that love and make you feel good. For that to be possible I will need to know some things you probably don't want anyone to know." She paused and reached out to lift Emily's chin up so she could see her face, "I want to be a bridge for you. You have separated yourself because of a god-awful trauma which is totally understandable.

We see it all the time in the victims we help. I now know why you are so good with them... you understand their pain and you release their shame by telling them it isn't their fault and other things that you do but you will not tell yourself that. I remember one of our first cases together you told an older victim that she had trapped herself in the pain by not telling anyone. You said that, "Now that she was older she could tell someone and listen to the story herself as an adult and it would help free herself from the self judgement she was handing down to herself."

"Damn...I knew you were watching me but that was word for word JJ."

"It was good advice..." She said smiling at Emily, "...you have opened up and told me what I imagined you feel safe in telling me but now I need to hear the scary parts that you judge yourself on even though you know as an adult there is no way you are responsible for."

"JJ..."

"No Em... You couldn't tell anyone when it happened you already tried and was shot down by your mother. I know how it feels not to be able to talk about something horrific that happens when you are a child. My sister killed herself when I was eleven and we didn't talk about it in the family because it was too painful or might upset my mother. I got help in college by accident in a psychology class.

This morning when you were telling me about separating your feelings from your emotions I remembered this book that we had to read in class _Shame the Power of Caring_ and in it the author... the best I remember gave a scenario where a child who is totally reliant on their parent for survival does something to make the parent mad and they yell at them and send them to their room. Later the parent realizes that they were in the wrong and comes to the child to apologize but the child won't let them apologize because the parent is the provider so they couldn't be wrong.

Later in the book he talks about how if the parent doesn't come and talk to the child at all then there is no bridge for the child's emotions and they will be left trapped in their emotions causing shame. I believe you have been many bridges for victims over the years but you need a bridge to get out of the shame yourself. Let me be that bridge Em." She said cupping Emily's cheek.

"Wow... You know it is a lot easier giving this advice than taking it. I'll have to remember that the next time we are with a victim." She said trying to smile at JJ. She was proud of her and yet felt panicked beyond words at the moment of her. "Where do I even start?"

"How about you retell me the story from last night but this time fill in your feelings that you felt at the time which were missing from the story." Emily looked up in a panic of fear. JJ cupped her cheek again, "Shhh... it's all good. There is no judgement here you are safe. I will listen to every word and I will believe you. I'm only here for you Em."

* * *

 **I know another cliff hanger... and I was going to make this the last chapter but I will not rush the story...it's to important. It does have a beautiful ending but we have to go through this to get there.**


	23. Chapter 24

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Emily looked into blue eyes that were warm and loving and wanted so much just to open up but self-survival kicked in. "JJ there is a reason therapist can't date their patients... It never works or lasts." She said standing up and started to walk away until JJ caught her hand. "Em...I'm not wanting to be your therapist. You rip those people up like a puppy would a shoe. I want to be your bridge..." She paused letting her words sink in, "...I believe that you have wanted this for some time and I believe you trust me or you wouldn't have shown me your journals."

Emily turned and looked at her and couldn't resist this time. For the weight of guilt was getting to heavy for her to carry, "What do you have in mind."

"Well...last night you seemed very comfortable talking to me while I sat behind you holding you so why don't we get in the same position and try from there?" She said and waited for Emily to feel safe enough to sit between her legs and lean back into her chest. It took a few moments but the stubborn woman finally caved in and sat. Then she sat with her eyes closed as JJ placed her cheek against her back like she had the night before and waited the voice of the past to reappear.

"When we passed the school..." She started, "...I looked out the window and fear gripped my heart. I looked at the evil woman who was in the front seat that had turned to watch my reaction as we passed it. That's when I knew that mother had told her instead of telling the police. The smirk on her face told me everything I needed to know." JJ felt the shutter that went through the woman's body and squeezed a moment letting her know she wasn't alone in the memory.

"We got to Eleanor's house and I started to get my bag out from the car but Eleanor took it and put it back in it telling me I wouldn't need that. I started to bolt but turned right into David as she howled laughing at me. I was so angry and afraid at the same time. I knew Maria wasn't lying about what they did to her and I knew I was next on their sick plate to devour but I wasn't strong enough to fight them and get away.

They took me down this flight of stairs where they had Maria in basically a cell and threw me in with her. She was totally naked and when she saw me all hope drained from her body I could tell as she slumped into the corner she was standing in. I was her last hope and here I was in the same cage as she was." Emily paused as the sobs came. "Em... It's not your fault... remember that." She said squeezing again," I know it's hard but what were you thinking then?"

"What do you mean?"

"This is where you started disconnecting. What was going on in you sweetie?"

"I'm going to be sick..." Emily said running to the bathroom and throwing up. JJ followed and went through their ritual of wetting a cloth and putting it to her neck, tying up her hair, and drawing circles on her back from behind. JJ waited her bodies reaction out. Emily fell back into her chest, "When I first saw Maria naked I had fluttering's in my stomach. She was beautiful and I had a crush on her and god how could I..." She raised up and threw up more. JJ continued to rub her back as tears flowed from her eyes but anger was brewing in her stomach for the sick bitch that played with Emily's head and heart like this.

She laid back into JJ's chest again, "Em... you know how we always tell rape victims that they can't help natural responses?"

"I know... easier said than believed JJ."

"Em... listen to me sweetie. You didn't have any clue exactly what was going to happen and I'm sure at fourteen you couldn't stop your hormones. None of this is your fault... They would have killed her anyway...you know that." She said kissing the woman's head.

"I know JJ but inside just can't seem to comprehend that fact all the time."

JJ just held her for several moments, "I know it's painful..." She said and paused again, "...but I need you to finish the story." No response, "Em... Honey, we are almost there sweetie. You can do this...promise."

Emily took a deep breath and blew it out. "I didn't have anything to cover her with. It was summer and I was in shorts and a tank top but I went to where she was in the corner and shielded her from the openness of the cell. That's all I could do for her." She said and started crying again. "That's...all...I ...could do...Jay." She said turning around and into the woman's chest. "I know honey and you protected her for a while." JJ said reaffirming she did good rubbing her back and kissing her head.

They sat there until the past voice could return, "They left us in there for hours and it was dark all but this dim nightlight. Maria didn't shake... she didn't move and I thought she was dead at times but I guess she had already started to by that point. They came and turned on the overhead florescent lights and I saw their dungeon of terror all lit up in its full glory. When they came to get Maria... I fought trying to save her. I bit and kicked until she turned and looked at me like I told you last night and I just stopped like I understood she wanted to die to stop the pain. Sometimes I understand that look."

"Oh God No Emily..." JJ said unable to stave off the pain in her own heart hearing the confessions of the past.

"I will never try to kill myself Jennifer but sometimes in the past it felt like the pain was slowly doing it for me. That's when the stare helped me and it still does."

"But the stare also keeps you from feeling the joy and love of life too." She said into the top of Emily's head as she held her tight.

"Small price to pay I felt until I met you. I have never wanted so badly to feel someone and yet every time I start to allow myself to feel the fluttering it is painful and when the pain comes the stare follows. I want to love you but I can't...I'm broken. Eleanor was right they haunt my life."

"No... That's what she wanted you to believe Em. You shined a light on her sick world and to pay you back she tried to infect you with her sickness. But you are not her Emily and never will be. You are not broken just a little wounded maybe...but wounds can be healed."

"How?"

"I have an idea but you have been through enough for now. Let's get dressed and go for a walk or go to a museum anywhere that is going to take your mind off of this and put it in an atmosphere of happy for the rest of the day. Where would that be for you?"

"I like walking around the Washington monument and looking at the pools."

"Then that's where we will go because I need you relaxed for tonight."

"JJ..." Emily asked skeptical.

"Do you trust me?"

Emily looked up into her blue eyes, "With everything."

"Good." She said smiling and kissing the top of her head. "Now let's get going I'm starving and there is a place off the mall that has a great brunch." She said trying to lighten up the woman's worry but she knew that was going to be a hard task to undertake but it was worth a shot though if it gave Emily comfort.

* * *

 **I believe the next chapter will be the last and it will be amazing. :)**


	24. Chapter 25

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

JJ walked into Emily's condo as she held the door open for her. They had spent the day walking after trying to eat a light brunch. It was a sunny yet cold day with the sun melting snow from off the streets. JJ sat her bag down and it made a rattling sound that made Emily look at her again like "what is in your bag?" They had decided to spend the night at Emily's since it was so close to where they were walking.

"I have some wine and molded bread probably." Emily said with a wry smile, "We have been gone for over two weeks so no grocery shopping...sorry."

"That's okay...how about we order just a plain cheese pizza?" JJ asked knowing that was about all Emily could handle at the moment. "That sounds like and excellent idea. Why don't you open the wine..." she said handing it to her, "...while I call for the pizza." JJ took the wine and filled two glasses then handed one to Emily. She then went to the woman's stereo and turned the radio on and found that Emily had it on the same soft jazz station that she liked to listen to at night. "We have the same taste in music." She turned when there was no response and found Emily watching her. "What are you thinking?"

"How beautiful you are and how nervous I am."

"Come here?" JJ said and waved her over to where she was. Emily made her way over to her so slowly that she met the woman half way. JJ reach out her arms for the woman to enter into her space. When she did, "Dance with me Em," was said as she started swaying her hips to the music. Emily put her arms around her then started leading her around the room. Everything that JJ had done that day... with little touches and kisses here and there gave her a glimpse into what bothered the woman the most. She found that Emily could kiss her and touch her with little to no difficulty until it became deeper in intensity. She also realized that her touches caused instant pauses and sometimes flat out with drawl.

"Do you trust me Em..." was asked in a low voice in her ear. A nod of yes was given. "Listen to me then and hear what I am saying. I want to kiss you and I want you to kiss me back. It's okay...you don't have to run from the flutters. You make my stomach flutter too and it's all good and natural for that to happen." She knew she was breaking it down like they were teenagers again but in some ways Emily's emotions were still in that area and stuck in that time period waiting for a bridge so they could cross over and be healed. They danced for several more moments until JJ pulled back, "Stay with me Em...please." She said as she caught the woman's lips while still moving to the music. She realized Emily never got to identify her feelings as a teenager in this type of interaction before she turned them totally off.

The kiss was going good then JJ requested entrance into her mouth which was granted for a moment until tongues touched and Emily began to shake and broke away. "It's okay sweetie... I got you." She held tightly not allowing her to run. When she looked up at JJ she gasped at what she saw. It was desire and then it was gone. "You did really well." JJ said as the doorbell rang giving the brunette an avenue of escape for the moment.

They ate and drank wine enjoying each other's company. Emily started to open another bottle when the one they started with was empty. "Em...I know you are scared but I need you to be with me tonight." JJ said looking at the bottle as Emily looked at it too and blew out a deep breath and put it back on the shelf. "Thank you." Emily smiled at the woman even though panic was raising back up on the inside of her. JJ went over and got her to go bag and reached out her hand towards the woman, "Will you come up stairs with me?"

She looked at JJ and then looked at the stairs and drained the rest of the wine in her glass before taking her hand as they made their way up to her bedroom. Every step they took up the stairs made JJ's bag rattled causing Emily to finally stop and look at the woman, "JJ I have had sex with women and men before but none of their bags rattled. What the hell do you have in that bag?" She asked raising and eyebrow as JJ busted out laughing, "You are way ahead of me in one respect..." Emily just kept looking at her like "yeah...and"

"...you are my first woman." She said starting back up the stairs as Emily shook her head and followed grumbling, "Great the blind leading the broken...god help us."

* * *

 **Ok this story has been heavy at spots so I thought I would end it here on a laugh. I will post another chapter even though I thought this was it. I've decided to quit thinking and just write then post the end in bold when it's truly the end. LoL**


	25. Chapter 26

***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

Emily came into the bedroom a few moments behind JJ only to find her in the bathroom with the door shut. "JJ come out here please...we need to talk a moment." She said looking at the door and wondering what the woman was up to. The door opened only enough for JJ to slide out, "Yes ..." was said like "Is there a problem?"

"You've never had sex with a woman?" She asked looking at the blonde totally puzzled. "No... and I'm not planning on having it with you either." Emily rubbed her face in confusion.

"Then what the hell are we doing in my bedroom... having a slumber party?"

"Don't go getting all nasty with me Emily Prentiss..." She said putting her hands on her hips and raising her eyebrows at the woman. Emily looked to the ceiling and shook her head not believing the turn of the conversation. "...that's right Emily. I am not going to have sex with you either. You heard me right...I'm going to make love with you." Emily looked at her like a dog with a new food dish.

"Wait...let me get this clear in my mind. You've never had sex with a woman...okay." She gave her that, thinking she was splitting hairs on terminology though, "Have you ever made love to a woman?"

"No..." Emily raised her hands in the air in defeat, "Jennifer it's different than with a man." She said concerned that the woman didn't realize totally what she was getting into. "I know that...I'm not ignorant." JJ said rolling her eyes. "I bet you haven't made love to a woman either so we will be on even footing tonight."

"Dear lord...okay." Emily said trying to wrap her head around what she was hearing. "I'm only going to ask one more question then I'm all yours."

"I'm listening."

"Are you...yourself prepared for this?" She watched as some doubt cross the woman's face. "I'm not being critical of your inexperience Jennifer but it is different and I love you for wanting to do this but if you have any doubts let's just stop it right now because it will hurt more than help." She was saying as JJ came to her.

"I have doubts and maybe even some fears about hurting you but I myself am ready to love you and be loved by you when you are ready to do so." She said cupping the woman's cheek and looking her in the eyes with no doubts or fears in either her voice or eyes.

"Okay...where do we start?" Emily said closing her eyes and blowing out the breath she was holding in. JJ took the woman's hand and she followed her to the bathroom. "Close your eyes again for a moment." She looked at the woman but then did what she was asked. Emily felt the breeze of the door opening and the fragrance of lavender filling her sense of smell. The beauty of the smell instantly sent a relaxing essence over her body and she smiled. JJ saw the change and her heart skipped a beat at how beautifully relaxed the woman's face had become.

"Open your eyes and step in here with me." Emily complied as JJ shut the door behind her. The room was lit with several burning candles and the water was running in the tub. "The rattle you heard in my bag was these candles. I brought them because I knew you wouldn't have any..."

"I have one." Emily said with a pout of indignant as JJ smiled, "...as I was saying... you wouldn't have any lavender scented candles."

"Oh...well that's different." She said smiling as JJ walked over and turned the water off then turned back to her. "I have noticed you have little problems in touching me so I want you to undress me." She said as the brunette closed her eyes steadying herself. JJ took a step closer to the woman, "I know it may be difficult at first but let's try Em and I am going to tell you what I'm thinking while you do it." JJ watched her rub her face as the rest of her seemed to be paralyzed.

"Okay... I'll start the process." She said as she pulled her shirt out from being tucked in her pants. Emily watched her then looked into her eyes with only love and desire being reflected back to her. Then JJ started with the top button and unfastened it while looking into brown eyes that were slowly losing fear and beginning to register want. When she started on the second button Emily caught her hands and took over. Slowly the button up shirt was being lifted off of JJ's shoulders and falling to the floor.

Brown eyes looked down and admired the cleavage before her. JJ took the woman's hands and brought them up and covered her breast with them, "Feel me Em... the butterflies are flying strongly in my stomach right now but I don't want them to stop. I want you to stir them up even more." She said as she squeezed Emily's hands causing pressure on her silk covered nipples. The sensation caused a sudden intake of breath plus an arch into the woman's hands holding her breast. Emily felt light headed...she had done this before to others but it was mechanical without emotion. The partners never even knew she was basically a robot, just an empty shell squeezing their breast but with JJ she could almost feel the same sensation that she was causing in her own body. But instead of wanting to run she felt intoxicated at the feelings being described and exhibited. She paused her hands getting caught up in her own world a moment, "Em... are you okay honey?"

"I'm...you are..."

"It's okay sweetie...that is the correct feeling." JJ said smiling. "If I was doing the same thing to you I would be saying the same thing." There was a pause in the conversation,

"Try..." Was softly said with hints of uncertainty.

"Are you sure?" JJ asked not wanting to push.

"I am." Emily said looking into concerned blue eyes. JJ unbuttoned her shirt slowly looking into the brown eyes she was growing to love more and more trying to make sure she was okay after each one was undone. Finally, the red shirt joined the blue one on the floor but Emily also had on a red tank top. She searched the woman's eyes waiting to be given permission. Emily lifted her shirt from her pants and took JJ's hands and placed them on the hem of the shirt for it to be removed as well.

JJ looked down at two beautiful breasts filling the cups containing them. "Em...I want to touch you so badly. Do you think if you put my hands on your breast you would be okay?" No words were spoken... for a moment the world stood still but the hands on her breast gently slid off and then took her hands and were slowly brought to Emily's chest as they both had their eyes roll back at the first touch. "You are so soft and warm..." JJ said looking at her trying to covey how much she was enjoying feeling her under her palms.

Taking in short burst of air Emily was fighting off the flight response telling herself it was safe and normal. "What are you thinking Em?"

"My body is say "Damn this is hot"..."

"...and what is your mind saying?"

"Shit this is too much and I need to get the hell out of here but I can't leave."

"Do you want too?"

"No... but..." She started shaking as JJ increased the feelings by gently squeezing one breast. "Oh...God...I can't...I can't. I'm sorry Jennifer." She said as JJ removed her hands and slipped them around the woman and caught her in an embrace. "Shhh...it's okay. I got you." They held each other a few moments until Emily could gain control again. JJ wasn't detoured by what happened but encouraged they had chipped away some more of the protect walls around the woman's emotions. She felt if the stone wall ever fell that her love could bandage the wounds behind it. She knew that there would be scars but they weren't life threatening like open wounds were.

JJ rubbed up and down Emily's back and could feel the whelps and scabs on her back. "Baby we are going to beat this." She whispered into the woman's shoulder controlling the anger inside her own body at the torture the woman endured. The words seemed to encourage Emily because she reached up and unfastened JJ's bra startling her a wee bit. She pulled back and the garment fell to the floor but she didn't care, "Em..." This time it was Emily's turn to, "Shhh..."

"Let me..." was started to be said but her hands finished the sentence by lifting up and undoing the front clasp of her own bra letting it fall to the floor. JJ looked into her eyes making sure Emily was still in Emily not wanting to do this with an empty shell.

"I'm still here with you Jennifer...promise." She said sensing the woman's concern then she stepped forward bringing their bodies together again as they both had a shiver run through their bodies as skin was felt on skin for the first time.

"I know I told you I would tell you how I am feeling but I do not have words to express how good your body feels up against mine right now." JJ said and squeezed her tighter trying to get them even closer if that was possible.

After a few moments Emily asked, "Can we get in the water now?"

JJ looked up at her and realized the woman was on over load and struggling to stay with her. "Yes...let's get undressed and we can get in the tub however way you want. I'm so proud of you." She added to help encourage the progress. They finished undressing themselves and Emily stepped into the tub and extended her hand to help JJ in, "Can I sit in the back first?" JJ shook her head yes and smiled noticing that the word first was leaving open the possibility for her to sit and hold Emily as well. They sat in the hot water while Emily held JJ to her daring to kiss her neck and hold JJ's breast from time to time as they both absorbed the atmosphere of love and safety around them. Emily's lips were just below her ear... "I know you want to make love and I'm mostly okay with that. I need you to listen to me though before we attempt anything and know I am being as honest as I can be."

"I'm listening..." was said. JJ knew that the voice she was hearing was Emily's logical but loving one. "I know that you have probably read or even watched some lesbian movies. But you have to know just like straight sex... lesbian sex doesn't necessarily work like the movies or books either. Most of the time two people do not orgasm at the same time. Woman mostly make love to please the other and it is kind of turn for turn thing. I hate those movies and their clichés of she doesn't drive stick anymore."

"What?"

"Oh...it's a pet peeve of mine. Some say that sleeping with men is like driving stick."

"That's rude."

"Yeah...well they have it totally backwards."

"Yeah...why?" JJ asked curiously.

"Automatic would be like when women just lay there and let a man do his thing and no effort is put forth by her. But with a woman you have to be involved with her to get her to release. You may start in first and build up or you might be on a hill and ride the clutch the whole way down. But you can never just lay there and expect her to release."

"Oh... I get that."

"Good... because I want to give you a release Jennifer. I want to make love with you to the best of my ability..." JJ had a shiver run through her body as the deep desired voice vibrated around her neck and ear. "... I want you to experience what you are wanting to give to me because you can't totally give it without knowing what you are giving." She said as she landed her lips on the woman's neck and started sucking. There was a sudden intake of breath as JJ's hand came up and gently pressed Emily's head closer to her neck signaling she wanted more.

"God Emily...this is about you." She finally got the words past her imagination through her lips.

"No... it's about you too. This is your first time with a woman and unfortunately a broken one at that..."

"Em..." was started.

"Shhh... I know but I can give this and I want to stay with you during it. Let me show you how and then I will try and let you give it to me." She said landing her lips again on the spot she found made JJ moan. "Feels so... Okay let's go because you are killing me." She said as her body became on fire with the need to be touched by Emily. They got out of the tub and dried off and grabbed a couple of the candles and took them into the bedroom. Emily turned the lights out so the room would be bathed in the glow of candle light taking the atmosphere they had started in the bathroom to the bedroom with them.

JJ crawled up in the bed and waited for Emily to join her. She noticed that when the woman turned from turning off the lights she stared at her body. It wasn't "the stare" but a stare of desire and it made JJ shiver with anticipation. Emily smiled at her and crawled in the bed beside of her and put one of her legs over JJ's. She leaned down and captured lips in a passionate kiss that sent both of them to gasping for air and shivering at the intensity of it.

"God Jennifer... you wake up every nerve I have in my body."

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned it was too much.

"I'm on over load but I'm fine..." She said looking down and smiling at her, "There are several ways we can do this but let's keep it simple tonight." Emily said looking into blue eyes.

"I like that thought..." She said lifting up and pecking the lips above her. Then on the way back down to her pillow, "...and Em."

"Yeah"

"Let's have a safe word." Emily pulled up a bit looking at her puzzled. "I know people that are into bondage and other things do that so their activities stay pleasurable. Even though we aren't doing those things the principle still applies I think."

Emily relaxed following JJ's train of thought. "I think that's an excellent idea. What would you like the word to be?"

"How about butterfly." Emily looked at her and kissed her with all the love in her heart.

"Perfect...like you Jennifer." She said and started kissing the side of the woman's neck. She moved over and down the collar bone then between her breast. JJ was tingling and wanting more, "Em..." was started then, "Oh god..." was breathed out when Emily caught a nipple in her mouth and flexed it with her tongue. JJ had mini shock waves shooting all through her body. She now understood what Emily was talking about as she felt the woman's hand on the center of her desire. She looked into dark brown eyes and knew that the woman she loved was still with her and wanting to give her all of the pleasure she could. "Em... inside..." was all she could get out. Emily understood and shook inside herself...

"Em..."

"Shhh...I'm here." was said as JJ's eyes rolled back in her head when she felt Emily enter her. She tried to keep them open and watch the woman above her but the tides of pleasure were to strong pulling her out away from the shores to floating on nothing but a balloon of the atmosphere of love that Emily was causing in her. Then the balloon she was floating on popped and her body was caught in the tidal waves of pleasure pulling her to shore where Emily was holding her and kissing her cheek securing her to the shore. "Em..."

"I got you love... I got you." She said kissing her head. When JJ could speak again she looked at Emily, "Have you experienced this before?"

"Yes and no..." JJ looked at her puzzled. "I have through giving the pleasure... my body has through mechanics but emotionally together like you just did...no." JJ lifted up and rolled them. "Can I try and give it to you?" Emily looked at her, "I would like that but I'm still not promising anything."

"A challenge..." JJ said and smiled at the woman. Emily smiled knowing she was trying to lighten the mood up a bit. "You can try."

"I'm in love with you Emily..." was said catching the woman totally off guard, "...and I want you to feel all the love that I have in my heart for you." She said as she caught the woman's lips in a kiss and started the same path that was shown to her by Emily. It was a slower process because she felt the need to keep an eye on her making sure everything was good. It became too slow so much so that Emily had to finally take her hand and place it where she need the pressure to be eased and released. When she came back to her body from ecstasy she opened her eyes and found blue ones staring and smiling at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good..." She said and pulled the woman into a tight hug. They rested in each other's arms for several moments. "What are you thinking?" JJ asked.

"How I've always wanted to be able to do this and how much I love you for giving it to me. I never thought it would be possible."

"So, you didn't have any issues during it?"

"It was hard at first... but with you it was different than with others." She said looking at JJ. "This time Eleanor and David were a memory and not a hologram in the room with me." JJ raised up and looked at her questioning her. "With others, I ran from my body because they were right there with me. It was almost like in person telling me I was like them. But with you...you kept reminding me they were dead and I was me not them and the me inside right now wanted to give you pleasure and receive it from you. You reminded me they were the monsters in the room not me. If any of that makes sense?"

"It all makes sense Emily and we are going to eventually make the memories disappear too." She said as she pulled the covers over them. "Love always wins Emily and I love you." She said laying her head on Emily's chest to fall asleep. After a few moments of silence in the room, "Jennifer...I'm in love with you too." was softly said into the room. She lifted up to see tears rolling from Emily's eyes and kissed her. They held each other as they walked together into the netherworld of sleep with hope and love as weapons against the demons of the past that waged war from the dark.

* * *

 **Okay... I know for sure chapter 27 will be it because I got everything needed out in this chapter to bring it all together. Thank you for taking this journey with me.**


	26. Chapter 27

**I looked back at my comments on the first chapter where I was under the impression this was going to be a three-chapter fluff piece and laughed. I hope you have enjoyed the journey in this story even though it was dark at times.**

 ***Okay as always, I own nothing of Criminal minds I just get the privilege of playing with the characters for a while.**

("Some days are just bad days, that's all. You have to experience sadness to know happiness, and I remind myself that not every day is going to be a good day, that's just the way it is!" Dita Von Teese - )

 **(Almost a year later)**

The team found themselves on another child case this time in the town of Rowlett, Texas. They had a few rocky months over the past year with Strauss pulling her stunts and Gideon just up and leaving but the team survived it all through their loyalty to each other. Their bond was tight... even when they were on cases no ever said a word when they couldn't find one of the women in their rooms and would find them in the others. Rossi had questioned Hotch about it once but never said another word after he was told about Eleanor.

They were only a few miles from where Emily had been taken and tortured the year before and it was JJ who seemed to be having the bigger issue between the two of them. The team was around the table one afternoon after another body had been found the night before. They were going over the victimology when JJ slipped a note pad in front of Emily. The woman looked at her then lifted the first page to find that there was only one word written across the page in bold ink " **BUTTERFLY**." She looked up and pressed her hand on top of the tablet then handed it back to JJ who took it and got up and made her way to the back of the room. Emily excused herself five minutes later and went to meet her in the lady's restroom that JJ had already went to.

She walked in and called out when she didn't see her, "Jennifer..."

The woman stuck her head out from the far stall for a moment letting her know where she was. Emily took a few quick steps and turned and was pulled into the stall with her. "Are you..." started to be asked but was stopped when JJ's head lifted up with tear stained cheeks and red eyes which spoke all the words Emily needed to know. "Come here...I got you." They had begun to use the safe word to let each other know when things around them were getting to be too over whelming. "I'm sorry honey..."

"Shhh... it's okay. I understand...this one is hard and considering where we are... I get it." Emily said holding the woman tighter to her.

"That's true but shouldn't this really be the other way around?" JJ asked looking at her.

"The other way around?" She asked confused.

"Yeah... you were the one kidnapped and tortured last year and here you are consoling me." Emily didn't get to answer that because a knock on the door came and Morgan's voice came through the air, "Prentiss we have a lead and we got to go now."

"On my way Morgan!" She said as she looked at JJ. "Go...I'll be okay." She said to Emily as the woman sprinted to the door to leave but before she left she turned and said, "I'm okay today because love sent me you and we won," and she left.

JJ came out of the stall and washed her face thinking about what Emily had said. She then went back into the meeting room and noticed Emily had left her big coat on the chair and was just wearing her jacket. "That woman is going to catch the death of a cold if she doesn't start wearing this." She said out loud as she put the coat on needing to feel Emily around her. She hugged it to her remembering doing the same last year and finding the note where she told her she was going to distract Satan. Then she had a quick thought and started looking in the pockets of the coat because she had seen Emily writing on the jet on the way to Texas. Sure enough, there was the start of a letter to her:

 _Here we are again my dear Jennifer,_

 _A year ago, there were so many unspoken words between us and yet there are just as many today but I am closer to you than I have been to anyone ever in my life. Who would have thought that last year? I want you to know I love you more than anyone I have ever and I believe love sent you into my life to help defeat the evil holding me captive. It's amazing...I never knew butterflies could be such good warriors but you are. Maybe after this case we can start to talk about our future and where you see it going..._

That's where the letter ended so she folded it up and put it into her pants pocket. She caught a police officer and told him to let the team know she would be back in an hour. She got lucky because the team didn't get back until six hours later giving her plenty of time to make it back before them. They had shot the unsub and saved a little girl who JJ got to reunite with her mother.

The team was exhausted but grateful that the jet was leaving so they didn't have to spend another night in the hotel. They had taken off and were leveling out when Hotch asked to see JJ a moment. They were talking over a file but JJ could see Emily from where she was standing. She looked at the woman and pointed to her left pocket which translated to Emily that there was something for her in the pocket of her coat.

Emily pulled out a card and brought her book up around it for privacy.

 _Honey,_

 _I have to ask your forgiveness because I've done it again. I read your letter that you started in the right pocket of your coat._

Emily looked up at JJ who was looking like the cat with the canary in its mouth and grinned at her. She never could get angry at the woman or at least stay angry for very long. She looked back at the card.

 _If you will look in that same pocket the letter was in you will know what my plans for our future are._

 _Love...Jennifer_

She looked up again as she felt in her pocket but there wasn't a letter or card so she felt deeper and found something that felt like a small bag. She pulled it out and opened it. There was a sapphire and diamond ring in it. Emily looked up at the woman that was smiling at her and ignoring Hotch as she slid it on her ring finger letting JJ know that was her plan as well. They looked at each other and if the words could have been seen they would have gone something like this:

 _"The sapphire is to remind you that the love you always say you see in my eyes is there only for you and the diamonds are all the unspoken words between us."_

JJ looked puzzled at the woman who seemed to be looking in her jacket pocket now. She almost became panicked but smiled when she saw the diamond engagement ring being held up ever so slightly before covering it with a hand.

 _"I love you Jennifer...marry me?" Was left unspoken._

Emily looked up at the woman that she loved who was smiling shaking her head. She was grateful that she understood JJ's unspoken word of "yes."

* * *

 **That's it...thanks for reading.**


End file.
